Ivan Turgenev - Charles A. Moser - Columbia Essays on Modern Writers - A critical study of modern writers

Sep 28, 2026

A critical study of Ivan Turgenev as part of the Columbia Essays on Modern Writers series, presenting Turgenev’s place among nineteenth-century Russian masters. It evaluates common criticisms about datedness, lost immediacy of political concerns, and sentimental style, while also highlighting strengths in form, artistry, and psychological insight. The discussion frames Turgenev’s literary professionalism, linguistic mastery, and interest in life, death, and human relationships. It then moves into biographical context, beginning with his birth and early environment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages52

Reading Time1 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and evaluation of Turgenev

Common criticisms and counterpoints

Turgenev’s strengths in form, style, and psychology

Biographical background

Birth and early influences

Education and intellectual formation

lvan TurgenevCharles A.Moser 049046 FINDLEY MEMORIAL LIBRARYKEENE,TEXAS lvan Turgenev by CHARLES A.MOSER Columbia University Press NEW YORK &LONDON 049046 COLUMBIA ESSAYS ON MODERN WRITERS is a series of critical studies of English, Continental,and other writers whose works are of contemporaryartistic and intellectual significance. EditorWilliam York Tindall Advisory Editors Jacques Barzun W.T.H.Jackson Joseph A.Mazzeo Ivan Turgenev is Number 60 of the series CHARLES A.MOSER is Associate Professor of Russian at GeorgeWashington University.He is the author ofAntinihilism in the Russian Novel of the 1860'sand Pisemsky:A Provincial Realist. Copyright C1972 Columbia University Press ISBN:0-231-03412-1 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:71-186640 Printed in the United States of America 98765432 lvan Turgenev Many critics now consider Ivan Turgenev the most dated of thegreat masters of the novel in nineteenth-century Russia.Hisexquisitely planned,finely wrought books are “faded,”theysay;the political issues which concerned him have long sincelost their immediacy;his approach is sentimental,even mawk-ish;he supplies nourishment only to “those who find meat anddrink in clouds and nymphs,"in the words of an unkind con-temporary scholar.So runs the standard list of complaints aboutthe most civilized and cosmopolitan of Russian writers.Andindeed there is some truth in them.Turgenev cannot boast theverbal exuberance and astounding inventiveness of a Gogol,the profound energy and conviction of a Dostoevsky wrestlingwith problems of a sort which our age thinks very relevant,the epic sweep of description and inquiry to be found in Tolstoy,the painstaking attention to detail and psychological analysisof a Goncharov.Yet despite all this,Turgenev displays strengthswhich led that American original Albert Jay Nock to call him“incomparably the greatest of artists in fiction”—or VirginiaWoolf to describe his books as “curiously of our own time,un-decayed,and complete in themselves”-and which ensure thathe will continue to be read both in his native country and inthe West for as long as we can foresee.The intellectual fashionsmay be against him at the moment and may remain so for sometime,but Turgenev has never been totally eclipsed,and sucha fate is scarcely likely to befall him in the near future. Turgenev wrote primarily brief novels and short stories.Hewas a master of literary form and a superb stylist,with a com- mand of the Russian language which was the envy of his con-temporaries.His skill at painting with words,especially in hisnature descriptions,has never been surpassed.Turgenev was agenuine literary professional.As he was independently wealthy,he had time to polish his efforts,for he did not depend uponliterature for his living (an economic reason for the inordinatelength of many Russian novels is that Russian writers of thenineteenth century were paid according to the number ofpages they produced).He watched the contemporary politicalscene closely,and any reader who wishes to obtain a detailedunderstanding of Russian intellectual and political life of themid-nineteenth century is well advised to read Turgenev.Turgenev was a subtle student of human psychology,especiallyas it manifests itself in the relationships between men andwomen.He was concerned with the great questions of life anddeath,too,and although his responses to them were shallowerthan those of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy,much more akin to thoseof Lermontov before him or Chekhov after him,it remains truethat to study Turgenev carefully is to gain a fuller appreciationof life.Such strong points as these guarantee that,for all hisweaknesses,Turgenev will continue to occupy a secure nichein the pantheon of his country's greatest authors. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was born on October 28,1818,in the town of Orel,located in the heartland of Russia.Orelwas not far from the Turgenev family estate at Spasskoe,whichlater became the wr

FAQs

Why do some critics consider Turgenev outdated among Russian novelists?

Critics argue his work is “faded,” that his political concerns lack immediacy today, and that his approach can seem sentimental or overly mild. The text presents these as the standard complaints.

What strengths does the study credit to Turgenev despite those criticisms?

It emphasizes his mastery of literary form and style, especially his command of the Russian language and his skill in painting nature. It also highlights his subtle understanding of human psychology and his enduring importance to readers.

What early biographical details does the document provide about Ivan Turgenev?

It states he was born October 28, 1818, in Orel, discusses his family estate surroundings, and describes how his mother’s cruelty repelled him while his father died in 1834.

Sep 28, 2026

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