Mumu

This edition includes the early works of I.S. Turgenev, in which the most important motives of his creativity are revealed — fate, duty, loneliness, the search for happiness, and others. In them, Turgenev's approach to revealing the inner world of characters is manifested, which later received the name "secret psychologism." "A poet must be a psychologist," Turgenev said, "but a secret one: he must know and feel the roots of phenomena, but only represents the phenomena themselves — in their blooming or withering." The feeling of loneliness and despair distinguishes Turgenev's "superfluous men" — heroes unable to find application for their strengths, knowledge, and talent. However, the feeling of hopelessness is characteristic not only of individualists and rebels but also of the little man. Thus, in the story "Mumu," written by Turgenev based on real events, Gerasim's personal drama is elevated to the level of a universal human tragedy. It is no coincidence that I.S. Aksakov considered the image of Gerasim to be "the embodiment of the Russian people, its terrible strength and incomprehensible meekness."