A fighter for truth and an incorrigible romantic in love: Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

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

He was mama's favorite, but they flogged him, like all brothers and sisters, on her orders. Contemporaries called him a "storyteller", and his works - "strange fantasies", divorced from reality. He was hated by the rich and those in power, personified justice for the poor and the offended. He fell in love with a 12-year-old teenage girl, and later getting married and living with her all his life, remained for her a "scoundrel" and a loser who ruined her life. About these and other oddities in the fate of the outstanding Russian prose writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin further in the review.

The satirist Saltykov-Shchedrin entered the treasury of Russian literature as the author of prose of a topical allegorical nature. And he tried his hand and talent in various literary genres. He brilliantly succeeded in novels, and stories, and stories, and fairy tales for adults, in his youth he even wrote poetry. And this is all besides the editorial work in the cult magazines of that era.

Fascinating pages from personal life

Russian writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was born on a cold January day in 1826 in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province, on an estate owned by a hereditary nobleman and collegiate adviser Evgraf Vasilyevich Saltykov and his wife Olga Mikhailovna Zabelina. Or rather Saltykov, the Shchedrin prefix appeared as a pseudonym later.

There are several versions explaining the origin of this prefix to his surname. According to one of them, during his exile in Vyatka, Saltykov met the Kazan blacksmith Trofim Shchedrin, who was an honest, just, brave and very wise man. It should be noted that the writer valued these qualities above all else, and therefore decided to perpetuate, thus, the name of the blacksmith.

Childhood of "dear Misha"

His mother was the daughter of a Moscow merchant, who, at the age of 15, was married to the forty-year-old Evgraf Vasilyevich. The husband took the young Moscow lady to the Tver estate and entrusted her to rule over her serfs. Soon the young wife became the mother of five children. Olga Mikhailovna was twenty-five when she gave birth to her sixth son, who was named Mikhail. Mother loved "the youngest" more than other children, highlighting his outstanding talents. And even when two more sons were born, “dear Misha” still remained “the youngest” and “beloved”.

Over the years, Olga Mikhailovna has greatly changed in character. Nothing of the cheerful and good-natured Muscovite remained in her; an imperious and cruel lady came to replace her. And not only the serfs were terrified of her, but also her own children, who tried not to appear in the eyes of their mother once again, so as not to inadvertently get punishment. And there was nothing to say about the servants and the servants. They flogged everyone in the Saltykovs' house by order of the lady indiscriminately. By the way, Olga Mikhailovna clearly divided her children into “beloved” and “hateful”, the latter included the younger sons. They flogged them almost daily. Even the pet Mishenka got it sometimes. Memories of whipping with rods were etched in his childhood memory for life.

Remarkably, a naturally gifted boy, the serf painter Pavel Sokolov taught the basics of literacy; then his elder sister, a priest of a neighboring village, a governess and a student of the Moscow Theological Academy studied with him. And this turned out to be enough for the boy to brilliantly pass the exams at the prestigious metropolitan educational institution.

Attempt at writing

To his great joy, in the tenth year of his life, Mikhail left the gloomy family nest. He was awaited by a boarding house at the Moscow Noble Institute, which trains the "golden elite" of Russian society. It was there that the young man discovered literature for himself, which later became the meaning of his whole life.

After two years, Mikhail Saltykov was recognized as one of the best students and transferred to the famous Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, within the walls of which Pushkin, Pushchin, Lomonosov took their first creative steps. Apparently, this fact inspired the work of the lyceum student Saltykov, whom fellow students and teachers called "a smart guy", and also a "gloomy lyceum student". Mikhail began to write poetry, inspired by his famous predecessors, some of them were even published in Sovremennik, edited by Pletnev. But after a while, the young man realized that poetry was not his element, and switched to prose, mainly of a satirical and allegorical nature.

Upon graduation from the lyceum, in his certificate in the subparagraph "characteristic", along with other disciplinary offenses, it will be written: "smoking and rudeness, writing works of disapproving content." Even in those years, young Mikhail saw oppressive injustice and tried to show in his works his attitude to the existing system in Russia. For which in the future he paid …

By the way, in the present time, the work of the famous satirist remains fresh and relevant. His satire and irony are sharp, like 150 years ago, as you can see for yourself by reading 15 apt phrases about Russia.

Seven years of exile

Immediately after graduating from the Lyceum, the future writer was enrolled in the military office. And four years later, for the story "Confused Business", where he clearly showed his attitude to serfdom, he was exiled to the provinces for seven years. These arguments of the novice writer about the fate of the Russian peasantry could have gone unnoticed if they had not coincided with the events of the French Revolution of 1848, which shook not only Europe.

In Vyatka, where the "unreliable hack" was exiled, Saltykov-Shchedrin served as a clerical officer in various state offices. And this provincial life made it possible for him to get to know even better all the dark sides of the existence of the common people. It was there that he would write "Provincial Essays" and compose "A Brief History of Russia". And it was there that he would find himself a wife, one and for life.

And, curiously, despite the critical perception of existing reality, which left an imprint on his character, Mikhail Evgrafovich was a great romantic at heart. And later he became a good family man. He first met and fell in love with his future wife Lizonka Boltina, daughter of the Vyatka vice-governor, when she was only twelve years old. The young man patiently and faithfully waited for the girl to grow up to offer her his hand and heart. And that day has come. With the blessing of his parents, Saltykov-Shchedrin, at the age of 30, married a young girl, almost half his age. Did she love him then? Yes, hardly …

Family life

To tell the truth, Lizonka did not stand out at all for her intellectual level. - Saltykov wrote with his characteristic irony. “It's amazing how such a person could charm a writer … But be that as it may, it did not stop her husband in love from head over heels, doted on the soul in his chosen one and indulge her immensely.

By the way, the imperious mother of Mikhail Evgrafovich did not approve of the choice of her beloved son and refused him material support. It was not the age of the bride and the lack of a dowry that caused the mother's displeasure.

The writer's heirs

Seventeen years passed before Elizaveta Apollonovna gave birth to the writer two children - the son of Constantine and the daughter of Elizabeth. Evil tongues said that the children were not his at all. Since the reputation of a windy and eccentric person is firmly entrenched in his wife. However, Mikhail Evgrafovich did not believe the rumors. And he loved his little Lizonka and his offspring even more.

And, despite the fact that she remained with the writer until the end of his days, she paid for his immeasurable love not in return, calling her husband exclusively a "scoundrel" and a loser who broke her life. She came to the office of Mikhail Evgrafovich only to take money. And the children, seeing such an attitude of the mother to the father, behaved accordingly. And he, as eyewitnesses assured, even before his death, caring for his beloved wife, begged his son to take care of his mother and take care of her.

"I'm very busy - I'm dying"

Saltykov-Shchedrin spent the last months of his life in bed, and asked visitors who came to visit the patient to convey: But at the same time he did not stop writing, his prose remained strong and free until the end of his days.

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin died in 1889. He was 63 years old. Elizaveta Apollonovna survived her husband for twenty years, but she never married again.

Sometimes they say that talented people are unbearable in the family, which cannot be said about our hero. Apparently, he directed all his soul tenderness and wisdom to love, endure and be charmed like the first time. It is likely that this approach was the secret of the family life of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin and his wife Elizabeth, who have lived together all their lives.

Many great and talented people had their own individual extraordinary attitude to the family union. Continuing on this topic, read: Why Nikolai Chernyshevsky forgave his wife everything, even adultery.