Why the poet Tvardovsky never dedicated poetry to his wife, with whom he lived together for more than 40 years

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky is a special phenomenon in Russian Soviet literature. Contemporaries called him the conscience of poetry and marveled at his "correctness." But next to him was the one who believed him more than herself. Maria Illarionovna Gorelova became the first and only love in the poet's life, muse, support and "the second wing of his conscience." But in his work there will not be a single poem dedicated to his wife.

Two destinies

Alexander Tvardovsky, as he wrote in one of his poems, was born literally under a Christmas tree on the Zagorye farm in the Smolensk region. His father was always a strong peasant, but his fellow villagers did not love him too much, Trifon Gordeevich was too arrogant and arrogant. And the father was very tough in temper, which became the reason for the quarrel with the matured Alexander in 1928.

It was then that Alexander Tvardovsky went to Smolensk, for he dreamed of studying, doing literary work, and not agriculture. By this time, the poet had already published his poems and notes in the newspaper, spoke at literary evenings. At one of them, he met Masha Gorelova, a charming student of the philological faculty of the pedagogical institute.

Alexander Tvardovsky will say later that Maria had beautiful eyes and a smile, and he forgave her snub nose. She had brown hair and blue eyes, she loved to go for the first snowdrops to the Dance Grove near the Kolodnya station, four kilometers from Smolensk, she was a singer and wrote poetry.

They simply could not fail to notice each other. The love that broke out between young people turned out to be the first and only one in everyone's life. They will carry it through the years, Maria Gorelova will become the poet's "hope and support", and also his first reader and critic, his assistant, secretary and his muse. Maria Gorelova will never lose faith in Alexander Tvardovsky, even at a time when the whole world seemed to take up arms against him.

The young people became husband and wife in 1930. Alexander Tvardovsky simply informed his parents that he had married, and for a long time they did not recognize his young wife. And Maria's mother looked closely at her son-in-law for a long time.

Through loss and trial

And the young family lived very poorly at that time. They did not have their own homes, they actually wandered in the corners. Born in 1931, her daughter Valya was given to her grandmother for a while. In the same year, the poet's father was dispossessed and sent into exile, and Alexander Tvardovsky himself has since been branded as a "kulak son."

The poet then went to the regional committee and tried to prove that his family is not fists. But he had to give up, otherwise he would have gone after the family. Only five years later, the poet managed to obtain permission for the return of his parents and the whole family to Smolensk. All his family was saved by the "Country of Ant". Stalin liked the poem, the poet received the Stalin Prize for it, which allowed him to petition for a family. This also saved his life, since the NKVD had already managed to initiate a case against the "kulak son".

The wife of Alexander Tvardovsky was always by his side. Supported, helped, encouraged, did not let the spirit fall. They were always there. They rejoiced at the opportunity to place their daughter Vala in a kindergarten, which appeared after their move to Moscow. And they really wanted to settle in the capital as soon as possible in order to take their son Sasha to them, who lived with his grandmother for the summer. But then a terrible telegram came from Smolensk: the Tvardovsky's son died in the hospital from diphtheria. This pain has forever remained in the heart of the inconsolable parents.

In 1941, the youngest daughter of the couple, Olga, was born. It's amazing how gentle and caring Alexander Tvardovsky was with all his children. He did not hesitate to change the diapers for the babies and wash them, he composed some simple songs for the children …

And then the war came and the poet went to the front on the second day. Maria in every newspaper looked for the name of her husband. Let there be no letters, but if his poems and articles are published, it means that he is alive. Letters began to arrive later, and the poet's wife lived from one letter to another, carefully kept and re-read them. They also received excerpts from "Vasily Tyorkin", and Tvardovsky's ideas about the development of the plot of the poem. The wife's opinion about the works was very important for the poet.

By the way, it was his wife who advised Alexander Trifonovich not to raise Tyorkin to the rank of officer, to leave him as a simple soldier. Perhaps that is why the hero of the poem became the favorite of the front-line soldiers. In it everyone could see themselves …

No love lyrics

Peace always reigned in the Tvardovsky family, as if the spouses had never had any reasons for quarrels and conflicts. Maria Illarionovna invariably felt the mood of her husband, helped to sort out his doubts and throws, gave wise advice. In fact, she devoted her entire life to her husband. But she herself wrote poetry, and she was even persuaded to print them. But the poet's wife found it inconvenient.

Maria Tvardovskaya never had a reason to doubt her husband's feelings. But there were no poems dedicated to her in the work of Alexander Trifonovich. The poet had a principle: never to bring personal things to the public's judgment, not to flaunt the most precious things.

But every year, on his wife's birthday, Alexander Tvardovsky always gave her a huge bouquet of white lilacs. It would seem that there is nothing special about this, except that Maria Illarionovna was born on January 28 and it is simply impossible to buy lilacs at this time of the year. Moreover, it was almost a fantasy for the realities of the Soviet era. Until now, no one knows where Alexander Trifonovich got the flowers.

For forty years Alexander and Maria Tvardovsky lived together. His wife was his salvation from depression in difficult times, when the poet was removed from his post as editor-in-chief of Novy Mir. She helped him make important decisions and persuaded him to give up the "Kremlin ration". Alexander Tvardovsky once wrote in his diary about the impossibility of groaning and complaining about difficulties if he has such a strong rear.

Maria Illarionovna remained faithful to her husband's memory even after he was gone. She outlived Alexander Tvardovsky by 20 years and all this time was engaged in the systematization of his archives, published books about him, added unfinished chapters of the poem "Vasily Tyorkin", helped to create the museums of Alexander Tvardovsky. She always worked to keep the memory of the talented poet and the person dear to her alive.

At one time, Alexander Fadeev helped Alexander Tvardovsky to save his relatives from exile. And the writer himself, after Khrushchev came to power, was removed from office, removed from the Central Committee of the party and declared a "shadow of Stalin" who approved death sentences for writers during the repressions. In 1956, Fadeev committed suicide, then alcoholism was called the reason for this, but in reality everything was much more complicated and dramatic.