Love twists and turns in the life of Lenin's "bell of revolution": Alexander Herzen

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

The Past and Thoughts by the cult author Alexander Herzen is still considered the richest collection of facts about the life of Russian society in the 19th century. One of the chapters of the work is devoted to a love drama, identical to the personal family history of the writer. And if the first love triangle was torn apart by the sudden death of one of the main heroines, then the next forbidden relationship of a prominent revolutionary agitator accompanied him until his death.

Friendship with the future spouse and marriage in spite of

Herzen knew his future wife Natalia Zakharyina from childhood. She was his cousin, the illegitimate daughter of Herzen's father's elder brother. In his youth, Alexander Ivanovich even happened to play the role of Natalya's attorney in love and her then beau. But even later, already admitting to himself his heartfelt closeness to Zakharyina, Herzen was in connection with married Medvedeva. Such an episode led to the fact that Natalia's noble family began to interfere with her intimacy with Herzen.

But fate decreed in its own way, and in 1838 Alexander and Natalya became spouses. Natalya Alexandrovna, who gave birth almost every year, was in poor health, and a few years later the family left for Italy for treatment. Herzen had with him a letter of recommendation addressed to the German poet Georg Herweg, which predetermined further events.

Living together with emigrants Gerweg

Circumstances so developed that after the arrival of the Herzen spouses in Paris, the Herwegs also moved there. Moreover, the latter accepted the offer of Russian emigrants to live in the same house. At first, cohabitation brought joy and benefit to friends. Being an outstanding person, he was in close relations with Karl Marx, was a member of his circle of friends and Richard Wagner. Men professing socialist sentiments found satisfaction in political conversation. But over time, Gerweg began to secretly look after the wife of a friend. True, only Alexander Ivanovich remained ignorant.

Georg's wife Emma loved her husband so much that she did the most unthinkable acts for his good. Emma was aware of her husband's betrayal, but she did not just turn a blind eye to it, but even conveyed frank letters from Georg Natalia. During this period, the ideas of Saint-Simon and Fourier that women should be free were gaining momentum in Europe. And Natalie saw no special sin in loving both men at once. Herzen, however, theoretically agreed with this position, about which he wrote in his work "Who is to blame?" But the practical side of the issue turned out to be more complicated, and the behavior of the wife did not find understanding in it.

The sneaky lover and the death of the heroine

Herzen learned about the affair of his wife and Gerwegh in 1851. A separate chapter in the work "Past and Thoughts" is devoted to his torments in this regard. Herzen considered the actions of yesterday's friend a crime, while recognizing the seriousness of his wife's heartfelt affection. The likely consequences frightened him. And soon the family drama reached a critical point, and Herzen kicked the Gerwegs out of the house.

And then Natalia's long correspondence with her lover began, for she continued to love him in spite of her reason. At some point, Herweg acted meanly, deciding to publish her letters with his own caustic comments. This step became fatal, and the devoted traitor apologized to her lawful husband, calling the incident a "terrible mistake." Harmony in the house has been restored. But in 1852 Natalya Alexandrovna died.

Rapprochement with Ogarev and the new Natalia

Herzen moved to London, where he opened a printing house and published the anthology "Polar Star". Later, in a duet with his friend Nikolai Ogarev, the first page of the uncensored Russian newspaper "Kolokol" was published. Before her death, Zakharyina bequeathed the upbringing of her own children to Tuchkova, who soon became Ogaryov's common-law wife. No matter how paradoxical it may seem, the plot began to repeat itself, the opposite is true. This time, Herzen is not the fooled husband. The latter is already deceiving a comrade-in-arms and close friend with his own companion.

The new Natalie had three children from Herzen, but Ogarev was considered their official father. Living in the same house, as in the first story, Natalya and Alexander treated each other like husband and wife, and the presence of Ogarev did not bother them at all. At the same time, male friendship did not weaken, the joint publication of ideological periodicals continued. Feeling himself completely superfluous after a while, Ogarev decides to retire. However, he remained Natalia's legal spouse. He did not find out his relationship with Herzen, demonstrating understanding and nobility. But life with Tuchkova turned out to be not as simple and cloudless as it seemed at first. A rather capricious lady did not get along with Herzen's children, and they, in turn, did not recognize their father's love affection.

The pangs of conscience and the consolation of a deceived friend

Herzen carried his guilt before Ogarev throughout his life, while continuing to cohabit with his lawful wife until his death. By the end of his life, Herzen moved around Europe a lot, worked on memoirs and was distracted from family troubles. At the same time, a complete disillusionment with socialist dogmas comes to him.

After a serious illness, he died in Paris, was buried in Nice near his first wife and children. Subsequently, all his offspring, born to Tuchkova, also died. Natalia herself lived alone for more than a dozen years.

Only Ogarev found consolation in his life, having met the Englishwoman Mary Sutherland. She was a practically illiterate "fallen woman". They met by chance: Ogarev was walking in the evening London, and a young Englishwoman was waiting for random men. It so happened that they never parted. Sympathy for the morally fallen Mary grew into love for Ogarev, and he began to live with her and her 5-year-old son. Despite the successful outcome and finding a new family, Ogarev began to drink too much, and his epileptic seizures became more frequent. Until his death, Mary remained at the same time a nanny, wife, girlfriend and mistress. It was to this ingenuous woman that he dedicated one of the last lines in his life: How grateful I am to you For the softness of the endless caress …

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