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Title: Smoke
Series: (The
Russians)
Author: Ivan Turgenev
Translator:
Garnett
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fiction
Pages:
287
Words: 78K
This was depressing as all get out and then Turgenev turns around and
tries to give everyone a happy ending. I appreciate him trying to do
that for me personally, since he knew that 160 years later I would be
reading this. But it didn’t fit.
Grigory is the main character. He had a bad romantic experience a
decade ago and is now engaged to another woman. He thinks he is over
the previous woman until he runs into her while waiting for his
fiance in a french town. Things go characteristically Russian (ie,
she’s now married, he falls in love with her, throws his fiance
over and then finds out the woman won’t run away with him leaving
her former life behind) and then the happy reconciliation with the
thrown over fiance happens at the end.
I enjoyed the living daylights out of this. While it was very evident
what was going to happen, and I was protesting the whole time (I
mean, what kind of man throws over a wonderful woman who loves him
for a floozy who threw him over a decade ago, just because of
feelingz?), it was also strangely comforting to watch someone else
being an idiot and knowing I didn’t have to deal with it myself. It
was cathartic actually.
While I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as Fathers
and Sons, it was definitely the second top Turgenev that
I’ve read. If he can keep up this kind of output, I’ll be a very
happy (albeit miserable) reader.
★★★★☆
From Wikipedia:
The
novel
opens in the German bathing resort of Baden-Baden (or simply Baden)
in the summer of 1862, where the young Russian Grigory Litvinov has
arrived en route home to Russia to meet his fiancée Tatiana Shestov,
who will soon be arriving with her aunt and guardian, Kapitolina
Markovna Shestov, from Dresden. In Baden Litvinov soon encounters
Rostislav Bambaev, an acquaintance from Moscow. Later that evening at
a social gathering Bambaev introduces Litvinov to the political
activist Stepan Nikolaevitch Gubaryov. Litvinov is not overly
impressed by the gathering nor especially by the nondescript looking
Gubaryov. After this Litvinov returns to a local restaurant where he
is approached by Sozont Ivanitch Potugin, who introduces himself to
Litvinov as a fellow Russian. Litvinov had noted Potugin at the
earlier get-together at Gubaryov’s where Potugin had not spoken a
word. Potugin now opens up to Litvinov and Litvinov in turn is
captivated by Potugin’s way with words. In a rather one-sided
conversation Potugin vents his frustrations regarding the Russian
character – its tendency towards servitude and flights of idealism
that lead nowhere. Later back in his rooms, Litvinov finds a letter
from his father and also a gift of heliotrope flowers on his
windowsill brought by a mysterious woman who, according to the
servant, did not leave her name. The letter from his father reveals
the superstition of the rural Russian. The flowers, though they come
without a note, seem to strike a deep and powerful resonance with
Litvinov. Later that night, unable to sleep, he suddenly realizes who
might have brought them.
The
story now reverts to about a decade earlier to relate the background
story of the young Grigory Litvinov and Irina Osinin. Acquaintances
in Moscow, the two fall in love when barely out of childhood and
promise themselves to one another. Unlike Litvinov, Irina comes from
an ennobled family of long pedigree, though in recent times fallen
into near penury. One day the Osinin family, in view of their
nobility, are invited to a ball being thrown by the emperor on his
visit to Moscow. Irina agrees to go though she pleads with Litvinov
not to go himself and Litvinov acquiesces to her wishes, though he
does bring her a bouquet of heliotrope. Irina’s beauty makes quite
an impression at the court ball and the very next day the court
chamberlain Count Reisenbach, a relation of the Osinins and a wealthy
man with high connections, decides he will adopt his niece Irina and
bring her to live with him in St. Petersburg. Irina is heartbroken
but bends to her parents’ wishes to become his adopted niece and
heiress. It means leaving Litvinov and she writes to him breaking off
their relationship. Soon thereafter she is whisked away to St.
Petersburg and her new home.
The
story moves back to Baden. Litvinov wonders excitedly whether it
wasn’t Irina who left him the flowers. The next morning Litvinov
decides to escape Baden and the Russian crowd by hiking alone up in
the hills around the town's old castle. Stopping later at the old
castle for refreshment, he encounters the arrival of a large Russian
entourage, clearly composed of Russian nobility of the highest rank,
many in military uniforms. Among them, a young woman calls to
Litvinov and he soon recognizes her as Irina, his former love. The
ten years since their last meeting in Moscow has brought her to her
full bloom and he is struck by her mature beauty. Litvinov is
introduced to her husband, the general Valerian Vladimirovitch
Ratmirov, an affable man who it soon becomes clear holds very
conservative opinions, wishing to turn back the clock on all the
reforms that have taken place in Russia. As the “son of a
plebeian”, Litvinov feels out of place among these aristocrats and
put off by their manners and opinions. He bids farewell to Irina and
she urges him to come see her while in Baden.
Though
affected by his meeting with Irina, Litvinov does not go to see her.
Several days pass. A letter from Tatiana telling him that she will be
delayed arriving in Baden due to the illness of her aunt puts
Litvinov in a petulant mood. One day Potugin comes to see Litvinov.
Litvinov is glad for the company but soon learns that Potugin knows
Irina quite well and that he has in fact come to bring a message from
her urging Litvinov to come see her that very day. He agrees. Irina
is staying in one of the finest hotels in the city and her husband is
away on personal business. Irina and Litvinov have a long talk
catching up on the past decade. Irina pleads with Litvinov to forgive
her for what she did to him and Litvinov seems to dismiss the notion
of forgiveness, as those events were long ago in their childhood.
When Litvinov touches upon the flowers left in his room, Irina claims
to know nothing about them. The return of Irina’s husband seems to
break up the meeting. Later Litvinov passes Irina again while out
walking but feigns not to recognize her. Irina later accosts him on
his walk, asking why he ignores her and pleading with him not to do
so, for she is desperate and alone and misses their simple
relationship. Litvinov tells her what is in his heart, that she meant
much to him and was the cause of great anguish and now that their
paths and situations are so different he sees no point in renewing an
acquaintance has only the potential to hurt again and to reveal to
Irina how much power she still holds over him. She urges him again
warmly that they might be, if not friends, at least friendly, “as
if nothing had happened.” Litvinov promises her not to treat her as
a stranger, though he still does not understand her intentions. Irina
is then called off by the approach of an aristocratic friend.
Litvinov, walking on, again encounters Potugin, now sitting and
reading on a bench. They have another lengthy conversation about
Russia that Potugin dominates, ridiculing those Slavophiles who are
constantly heralding the native Russian genius but who refuse to see
that the mastery of things comes with training and education and not
through any internal nature or instinct. Litvinov is still unable to
learn of just how Potugin knows Irina, only that he has known her for
some time. Returning to his rooms, Litvinov later finds an invitation
from Irina to attend a soiree in her rooms, where he will be able to
meet many from her circle and better understand “the air she
breathes.” Litvinov later attends this soiree and returning to his
rooms comes to realize with exhilaration and horror that he loves
Irina and that his marriage with Tatiana is threatened by this
looming passion. Litvinov decides he must leave Baden and Irina
forever and makes arrangements for the omnibus to Heidelberg. He
visits Irina’s hotel rooms to reveal both his love and his
determination to leave rather than ruin himself. Irina is moved by
this confession and though she initially supports his decision, she
later comes to him to confess her love and tells him her destiny is
in his hands.
Meanwhile,
Tatiana and her aunt arrive from Dresden. Litvinov’s rather distant
attitude towards Tatiana has his fiancée suspicious that something
is not right. When the couple pass Irina on the street and Irina
throws them a glance, Tatiana’s suspicions are further aroused.
That evening, rather than staying with his fiancée and her aunt,
Litvinov goes to see Irina who has summoned him. Irina tells him that
he is in no way obligated to her and that he should feel completely
free. On the way back to Tatiana’s rooms Litvinov encounter
Potugin, who is forward enough to warn Litvinov to beware of his love
for Irina and to not cause Tatiana pain. Litvinov feels insulted by
this presumption on the part of Potugin, but the latter assures him
he speaks from experience, for he too has been ruined by his love of
Irina, albeit a love that has never been and never will be requited.
The
story then reverts to eight years previous to relate Potugin’s
history with Irina. At that time he was still working as a government
official and would visit the country estate of the Count Reisenbach,
the guardian of the young Irina, near St. Petersburg. Later, Irina,
realizing that the older Potugin had fallen in love with her, uses
this leverage to seek a great favour of Potugin. Irina’s close
friend Eliza Byelsky, an orphan but the heir of a wealthy estate, was
facing ruin (though left unsaid in the novel, this is understood to
be pregnancy out of wedlock). For a large sum of money, but primarily
because Irina desired it, Potugin agreed to secretly marry Eliza.
Eliza later had her child, a daughter whom Potugin then adopted,
before poisoning herself. Since that time Potugin has followed in the
train of the Ratmirovs, utterly devoted to Irina.
Back
at his hotel, Litvinov spends the evening with Tatiana and her aunt.
He now tells Tatiana that he has something important he must tell her
the next day. Tatiana has a foreboding of what this might be. The
next morning a distraught Litvinov attempts to inform Tatiana of the
situation but it is Tatiana, rather, who guesses he has fallen in
love with that other woman they saw on the street. Soon thereafter,
Tatiana leaves unceremoniously back to Dresden with her aunt without
leaving any farewell note for Litvinov. Meanwhile, Litvinov writes a
letter to Irina telling her of his break and urging her to run away
with him only if her will is strong enough to stand such a life. If
not, he will go away. Irina arranges for him to come see her again
when her husband is out, and she reaffirms her commitment to follow
him, though all her finances are in her husband’s hands.
Eventually, however, Irina writes to Litvinov telling him that
despite her love she is not strong enough to abandon her current life
and declaring sorrowfully that she is unable to elope with him.
Litvinov is heart-broken and leaves Baden on the train back for
Russia. Along the way he muses over the mutability and seeming
meaninglessness of all things, which have all the permanence of the
smoke being blown forth by the train.
Back
in Russia Litvinov returns to his estate in time to see his elderly
father pass away. On his land Litvinov slowly recovers and even
begins gradually to implement some of the land management and
agricultural techniques he had learned in Europe. One day he hears
through a visiting relative that Tatiana is living not too far away
on her own estate with Kapitolina. He writes to Tatiana asking if he
might visit her one-day and she responds in the affirmative,
signaling to Litvinov that she has forgiven him. Litvinov wastes
little time and sets out for her village. At a way station en route
he encounters none other than Gubaryov and his brother. They reveal
their true colors by their derision of the peasantry and their base
treatment of Bambaev who, his finances wiped out, has been forced to
become a servant to the Gubaryovs. Arriving at Tatiana's, Litvinov
falls at her feet and kisses the hem of her dress. Here the narrator
leaves the story, with the note that readers can guess the end by
themselves.
As
he does with almost all his novels, Turgenev then briefly relates
what became of some of the other characters. Irina is related to be
older but still lovely, with young men still falling in love with her
"ironical intellect." Her husband is steadily rising in the
world. As for Potugin, the little girl he had adopted has died but he
still follows in the train of Irina.
