First Love · Date

Author: Turgenev
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Reading Turgenev's novels is like admiring Xiang embroidery or Suzhou embroidery, thinking of the delicate hands and fair-skinned people—Dong Qiao's 16-year-old Voroga falls in love at first sight with Zinaida, the duke's daughter, who is five years older than him. Out of love, he longs to kneel before her shoes, stroking every pleat on her robe and apron; the moment he hears her crisp, resonant voice, he feels "a pleasant shiver throughout his body." He is willing to sacrifice his life for her, ready to "discard everything in this world." Zinaida is an exceptionally beautiful and proud young girl. Voroga's sincere love moves her, but she only feels friendship and sympathy for him. She despises the vulgar men surrounding her and yearns for a pure, ideal love—yet she falls in love with Peter Vasilyevich, the elegant father of Voroga, a nobleman. She willingly endures his whipping and makes any sacrifice. But he cannot give her happiness. Her "young, passionate, radiant life" gradually withers away. With delicate brushwork and a lyrical tone, the author depicts the birth, explosion, and disillusionment of love, portraying the irresistible natural magic of love—people find it hard to resist or reverse it, only to yield to it and depend on it; it brings happiness as well as pain; it can destroy a person, yet also elevate the spirit.