Family drama: how Alexander Pushkin's relationship with his mother did not work out

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

Alexander Pushkin - a value for Russian culture is practically unattainable. Having received recognition during his lifetime, he was always surrounded by an aura of glory, however, against the background of universal love, he was tormented by the fact that he had never experienced true unity with the most dear person on earth - with his mother. The moment of their spiritual rapprochement occurred just before their death. Nadezhda Osipovna, and before that, their relationship developed very difficult …

Hope Hannibal was an outstanding person. Possessing a bright appearance, she was well educated, well-read, witty, her manners were exceptional, and conversations with her captivated more than one man's heart. Despite the fact that Nadezhda was one of the most enviable brides of St. Petersburg, and among her admirers were the rich and famous, Sergei Lvovich Pushkin won the heart of a temperamental girl. The captain of the Izmailovsky regiment was a distant relative of her, but this did not prevent the lovers from getting married.

Nadezhda gave birth to eight children, although five died in infancy, which was not uncommon in that era. Alexander was the eldest son in the family, but since childhood, the mother did not surround him with greater warmth and care, but the youngest son, Levushka and daughter Olga. Biographers are inclined to believe that Alexander's mother did not understand his character, that is why she practically did not find a common language with him, rarely showed participation in his fate.

Nadezhda Osipovna was a good housewife, and, we must pay tribute, gave the children a good education, despite the fact that the family did not always have enough money for private teachers. She taught children French, which was a mandatory "pass" into the high society.

When the talent of the brilliant son began to break through, when they started talking about him, and his poetry burst into the literary arena of St. Petersburg with a breath of fresh air, his parents partly changed their attitude towards him. Of course, they were proud, read with gusto, but … they did not show much warmth.

A significant event in the relationship with his mother was Alexander's exile to Mikhailovskoye. Most likely, it was then that Nadezhda Osipovna, yearning for her son, realized how much had already been missed in their relationship. Everywhere she does not make petitions in order to partially soften the decision regarding the freedom-loving son. Pushkin never found out about this emotional impulse of his mother, although, perhaps, the news of her sincere participation could become the starting point for their rapprochement.

Seriously ill at the end of her life, Nadezhda Osipovna tried to "make up" for lost time, to surround her son with attention. It is a well-known fact that she deeply regretted and asked for forgiveness from Alexander.

The poet's heart also thawed gradually. It is known that after the death of his mother, Alexander Pushkin brought her body to the Pskov province for burial in the Svyatogorsk monastery and expressed a desire to be buried next to her after death. As you know, the poet was shot just a year later, and his duel with Dantes became one of the the most famous Russian duels.