“ENTRING THE 18TH CENTURY!”: IMAGE OF THE GONE ERA IN IVAN TURGENEV’S NOVEL “VIRGIN SOIL”

Ivan Turgenev’s last novel “Virgin Soil”, not so often as the early novels, which attracted the attention of researchers, contains a characteristic image of the culture of the bygone era of the 18th century. It is embodied by the Subochevs — Fimushka and Fomushka. The author carefully worked on these images, inserting into the chapters devoted to them significant fragments of text, in particular descriptions of albums, including poems, and ecphrasis — the canvas with the image of Fomushka hunting. According to Ivan Turgenev, the purpose of creating the “oasis” of antiquity in “Virgin Soil”, a novel about modern times, is a contrast. The writer uses satire, which was peculiar to his talent throughout his work. Not only the rudiments of the 18th century, but also the quest for modernity, are exposed to ridicule, as well as the 19th century and the germs of the future — the 20th century, represented in the image of the unprincipled merchant Golushkin. On the other hand, Fimushka and Fomushka are regarded with favour both by the author and the central character — the populist Nezhdanov, the other guests of the old people. Turning to the creation of these characters, Ivan Turgenev artistically varies Gogol’s images of the “old-world landowners”, combining satire and a warm emotional feeling, realized through the embodiment of an idyllic spirit. Following the artistic logic of Nikolai Gogol and building his own course of artistic thought, Ivan Turgenev uses a number of characteristic techniques: he gives the twins almost identical names, creates their twin portraits, briefly describes their house outside and depicts the interior in detail. A separate characteristic theme is the literary and musical tastes of Fimushka and Fomushka. The two poems from the album are a clear parody of the literary demands of the era. The performance of a romantic song by the spouses is a grotesque scene in which anacreontic lyrics, popular in their time, are partly romanticized and even more vulgarized. Nevertheless, the images of the characters are undoubtedly close to the author spiritually and, even represented in a clearly parodic and satirical manner, turn out to be unexpectedly modern.