"The master was all a master should be,’ continued the old man, dropping his line in again, ‘and he had a kind heart too. He would give you a blow at times, and before you could look round, he’d forgotten it already. There was only one thing: he kept mistresses. Ugh, those mistresses! God forgive them! They were the ruin of him too; and yet, you know, he took them most generally from a low station. You would fancy they would not want much? Not a bit —they must have everything of the most expensive in all Europe!" - from "A Sportman's Sketches"
"A Sportsman's Sketches may well be the greatest collection of short stories ever written"-Frank O'Connor
Frank O'Connor loved the short stories of Ivan Turgenev (1818 to 1883.) He said if he were forced to name the two best short stories ever written they would both be by Ivan Turgenev. Ford Madox Ford said Turgenev's short stories were among the greatest of all world cultural treasures.
"Raspberry Spring" is the third story in Ivan Turgenev's (1818 to 1882) first published work, a collection of short stories, A Sportsman's Sketches. The realistic portrayal of the lives of serfs caused a great deal of social controversy. As I read the stories in the collection it is still shocking to hear the serfs described as being sold or owned by a certain Nobel.
"Raspberry Spring" is set on a hot August day on the estate of the narrator's family. He is out for a walk in the company of one of his dogs. It is not really a plotted story, just as the collection title suggests, a sketch of one of a Sportman's days. The beauty of the countryside is marvelously evoked. As he walks along he sees two serfs fishing. It was disturbing to have them described as property in a very casual fashion. We learn of area dramas and we watch the serfs fish. We learn of the very hard life of a serf whose master's house burned down. The master"s family moved to their Moscow property, leaving the old serf with no means of support or no place to live.
This is a beautifully done story about a for better or worse doomed way of life. I am currently reading a marvelous historical work, Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy by Douglas Smith and the short stories of Turgenev are a perfect accompaniment for them.
Those new to Turgenev should first read his Fathers and Sons. I am very fond of his novellas, especially First Love and A Lear of the Steppes.
Upon completion of my read through of Honore de Balzac's The Comedie Humaine, I may begin a read through of Turgenev.
What are your favorite works by Turgenev?
Mel u
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