Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva: a strange family union, in which the third was not superfluous
Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva: a strange family union, in which the third was not superfluous

Video: Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva: a strange family union, in which the third was not superfluous

Video: Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva: a strange family union, in which the third was not superfluous
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Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva, 1903
Alexander Blok and Lyubov Mendeleeva, 1903

Famous poet Alexander Blok, from the birthday of which on November 28 marks 136 years old, said that in his life there were only two women - "Lyuba and all the others." He really loved his wife, the daughter of scientist Dmitry Mendeleev, but this marriage was very strange. Blok called his wife the Beautiful Lady, believing that physical intimacy is a hindrance to spiritual intimacy. A Lyubov Mendeleeva dreamed of earthly female happiness and was forced to seek it with others …

Lyuba Mendeleeva (right) with a friend at the gymnasium
Lyuba Mendeleeva (right) with a friend at the gymnasium

The ideas of the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov about Eternal Femininity found an unexpected refraction not only in creativity, but also in the life of Blok, who strove to find his ideal of the Beautiful Lady. They had known Lyubov Mendeleeva since childhood, and when they met again (Blok was 17 years old, and Mendeleeva was 16), feelings arose between them. True, at first they were ambiguous: Lyuba even called her childhood friend "a poser with the habits of a veil." Then they took part in the home production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", where the main role was played by Blok, and Lyuba - the role of Ophelia. She conquered the poet with her seriousness, severity and inaccessibility.

L. Mendeleeva as Ophelia and A. Blok as Hamlet in a home play
L. Mendeleeva as Ophelia and A. Blok as Hamlet in a home play

Their communication soon ceased, but in the future several chance meetings with Mendeleeva took place, which Blok perceived as a mystical sign from above, and decided that Lyuba was his fate. In a real girl, he saw the embodiment of the idealized image of the Beautiful Lady, which he sang in poetry. However, Lyuba opposed the role imposed on her and often repeated to the poet: "Please, no mysticism!" Nevertheless, she married him. Dmitry Mendeleev was very pleased that his daughter decided to link fate with the grandson of his longtime friend, Professor Beketov, although he did not like Blok's poetry: "Talent is immediately visible, but it is not clear what he wants to say."

Scene from Hamlet's home production
Scene from Hamlet's home production

Immediately after the wedding, Blok told his wife that physical intimacy could destroy a spiritual bond. A similar attitude towards marriage was formed among the poet not only under the influence of the philosophical views of Vl. Solovyov, but also as a result of personal negative experience: Blok associated physical intimacy with prostitutes, and therefore was perceived as something dirty and short-lived. Later, the relationship of the spouses still crossed this line, but two years later they stopped altogether. Mendeleeva begged her husband in vain in her letters: "My dear, beloved, darling, do not kiss your feet and dress in your letters, kiss your lips, as I want to kiss for a long time, hotly."

A. Blok in 1907 and A. Blok in the role of Hamlet in a home play
A. Blok in 1907 and A. Blok in the role of Hamlet in a home play

Not only Blok himself believed in the embodiment of Eternal Femininity, but also the Symbolist poets from his entourage. Their marriage was interpreted as a sacred mystery, as the reunion of the prophet and his muse, and they saw in this a harbinger of the promised Vl. Solovyov for world cleansing. In every gesture, word, attire of Lyuba, the poets were looking for hidden symbols. Not everyone was fascinated by her - Anna Akhmatova called her "a round fool" and "a hippopotamus that has risen on its hind legs." But under the charm of Lyubov Mendeleeva, a close friend of Blok, Andrei Bely, fell, and his worship of the Beautiful Lady soon grew into an ordinary earthly love for an earthly woman. And Mendeleeva dreamed about it for a long time.

Lyubov Mendeleeva in the Boblovo estate
Lyubov Mendeleeva in the Boblovo estate

Lyubov Dmitrievna felt unnecessary to her husband and, as she wrote, "abandoned to the mercy of everyone who would stubbornly look after her." She rushed about for a long time, but in 1907 she decided to end her relationship with Bely. However, this did not save the marriage. At this time, Blok had a stormy romance with actress Natalia Volokhova. Mendeleeva herself came to her rival and invited her to take care of the poet: “Sasha needs a special approach, he is nervous, his grandfather died in a psychiatric hospital, and his mother suffers from epileptic seizures, and he is very attached to her … In general, decide yourself. " This was the end of the novel.

L. Mendeleev, photo 1905-1906 and 1913, in Biarritz
L. Mendeleev, photo 1905-1906 and 1913, in Biarritz

Mendeleeva also had novels. When her husband found out about her relationship with the poet G. Chulkov, she replied: “Am I faithful to my true love, just like you? The course is set, so sideways drift doesn't matter. And after that she confessed to Blok in all her hobbies, not forgetting to remind that her husband was her only love. From the actor K. Lavidovsky, she even became pregnant, and Blok agreed to be the father of the child, since he could not have his own children. But the boy died 8 days after birth.

Left - L. Mendeleeva. Right - K. Somov. Portrait of A. Blok, 1907
Left - L. Mendeleeva. Right - K. Somov. Portrait of A. Blok, 1907

Nevertheless, Lyubov Mendeleeva remained with the poet until the end of his days. When he fell ill, she looked after him, exchanging jewelry for medicine. In 1921, Blok died, his wife survived him by 18 years. She never married again.

Poet Alexander Blok
Poet Alexander Blok

Such strange marriages were not uncommon in those days: silver age love polygons

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