Life and creativity of Fet. Interesting facts about the life of Fet

The great Russian lyricist A. Fet was born on December 5, 1820. But biographers doubt not only the exact date of his birth. Mysterious facts of his true origin tormented Fet for the rest of his life. In addition to the absence of the father as such, the situation with the real name was also incomprehensible. All this enfolds Feth's life and creativity with some mystery.

Fet's parents

According to the official version, the Russian nobleman Athanasius Neofitovich Shenshin, while on treatment in the German city of Darmstadt, settled in the house of the Oberkrugskommissar Karl Becker. After some time, the retired army officer is fond of the daughter of the owner of the house, 22-year-old Charlotte. However, Charlotte at that time was already not free and was married to a small German official Karl Fet, who also lived in the house of Becker.

Despite these circumstances and even the presence of Charlotte's daughter from Fet, a stormy romance is fastened. The feelings of lovers were so strong that Charlotte decided to escape with Shenshin to Russia. In the fall of 1820 Charlotte left her husband and daughter, leaving Germany.

Prolonged divorce of mother

An outline of Fet's life and creativity is impossible without a story about the relationship of his parents. Being already in Russia, Charlotte dreams of an official divorce from Karl Feth. But divorce in those days was quite a lengthy process. Some biographers argue that because of this, the wedding ceremony between Shenshin and Charlotte occurred two years after the birth of a small Athanasius, their common son. According to one of the versions, Shenshin allegedly bribed the priest in order to give the boy his surname.

Probably, this fact influenced the poet's entire life. Violations of this kind in the Russian Empire were treated fairly strictly. However, all sources confirm the fact of the wedding of Shenshin and Charlotte, which later took the name of Elizabeth Petrovna Shenshina.

From noblemen to beggars

Getting acquainted with the biography of the lyrics, one can not help wondering what influenced Feth's life and work. It is difficult to learn all the details. But the milestones are completely accessible to us. Little Afanasii before the age of 14 considered himself a hereditary Russian nobleman. But then, thanks to the diligent work of judicial officials, the mystery of the origin of the child was uncovered. In 1834, an investigation was made in this case, as a result of which the future poet was deprived of the right to be called Shenshin by the Orlovsky Provincial Government.

It is clear that the ridicule of the recent comrades immediately began, which the boy was going through quite painfully. In part, it was the development of Feth's mental illness, which haunted him to death. However, it was much more important that in this situation he had not only the right to inheritance, but in general, judging by the documents submitted from the archives of that time, he was a person without a confirmed nationality. At one point a hereditary Russian nobleman with a rich inheritance turned into a beggar, no one but his mother, an unnecessary person, without a surname and Russian citizenship. The loss was so great that Fet himself considered this event to disfigure his life to the deathbed.

Alien Fet

You can imagine what the poet's mother went through, begging at the referee's jugglery at least some information about the origin of his son. But everything was in vain. The woman went the other way.

Recalling her German roots, she appealed to her former German husband for pity. History is silent as Elena Petrovna achieved the desired result. But he was. Relatives sent official confirmation that Athanasius is the son of Fet.

So the poet appeared at least a surname, life and creativity of Fet received a new impulse in development. However, in all the circulars he nevertheless continued to be called "the foreigner Fet". A natural conclusion from this was the complete deprivation of the inheritance. After all, now the foreigner had nothing in common with the nobleman Shenshin. It was at that moment that the idea took hold of him to regain the lost Russian name and title by any means.

The first steps in poetry

Afanasy goes to the Moscow University at the Faculty of Literature and is referred to in the university forms as well - "Feth Alien". There he meets the future poet and critic Apollon Grigoriev. Historians believe that the life and work of Fet have changed at this very moment: it is believed that Grigoriev discovered the poetic gift of Athanasius.

Soon comes Fet's first book - The Lyrical Pantheon. The poet wrote her while still a university student. Readers highly appreciated the gift of the young man - they did not care what kind of estate the author belongs to. And even the harsh critic Belinsky repeatedly stressed in his articles the poetic gift of the young lyric poet. Belinsky's comments, in fact, served Fet as a kind of pass into the world of Russian poetry.

Athanasius began to publish in various publications and a few years later he prepared a new lyrical collection.

Military service

However, the joy of creativity could not cure the sick soul of Fet. The thought of his true origin gave no peace to the young man. He was ready to go to anything, just to prove it. In the name of the great goal, Fet immediately enters the military service after graduating from the university, hoping to earn the nobility in the army. He ends up serving in one of the provincial regiments located in the province of Kherson. And immediately the first success - Fet gets officially Russian citizenship.

But also poetic activity does not end, he still continues to write and publish a lot. After some time, the army life of the provincial part makes itself felt: the life and work of Fet (he writes less and less often all his poems) become more gloomy and uninteresting. The desire for poetry is weakening.

Fet in personal correspondence begins to complain to friends about the hardships of his current existence. In addition, judging by some letters, he is experiencing financial difficulties. The poet is even ready for a marriage of convenience, only to get rid of the present oppressive physically and morally deplorable situation.

Translation into Petersburg

The life and work of Fet were quite gloomy. Summarizing the main events, we note that the poet pulled a soldier's strap for eight long years. And before receiving the first officer's rank in his life, Fet learns about a special decree that raised the length of service and the level of army rank for obtaining the rank of nobleman. In other words, the nobility was now granted only to a man who received a higher officer rank than Fet had. This news completely demoralized the poet. He understood that he was unlikely to attain this title. Life and creativity of Fet were again redrawn by someone else's mercy.

Women, with whom you could link your life by calculation, also was not on the horizon. Fet continued to serve, more and more falling into a depressed state.

However, luck finally smiled at the poet: he managed to transfer to the Guards Leyboy-Lancer regiment, which was not far from St. Petersburg. This event happened in 1853 and surprisingly coincided with a change in the attitude of society towards poetry. Some decline in interest in literature, which took shape in the mid-1840s, was over.

Now, when Nekrasov became the editor-in-chief of the magazine Sovremennik and collected under his wing the elite of Russian literature, the times clearly contributed to the development of any creative thought. Finally, a long-written second collection of poems by Fet was published, which the poet himself forgot about.

Poetic recognition

Poems printed in the collection, impressed the connoisseurs of poetry. Soon such well-known literary critics of the time, as V. P. Botkin and A. V. Druzhinin, left flattering reviews about the works. Moreover, under the pressure of Turgenev they help Fet to publish a new book.

In fact, these were all the same poems written in 1850. In 1856, after the publication of the new collection, Fet's life and work changed again. In short, Nekrasov himself paid attention to the poet. A lot of flattering words about Athanasius Fet were written by the master of Russian literature. Inspired by such high praise, the poet develops a stormy activity. It is published in almost all literary journals, which undoubtedly contributed to some improvement in the financial situation.

Romantic hobby

Fet's life and work were gradually filled with light. Most importantly, his desire - the receipt of the title of nobility - was soon to be realized. But the next imperial decree again raised the bar of obtaining hereditary nobility. Now, in order to find the coveted rank, it was necessary to reach the rank of colonel. The poet realized that it was simply useless to continue dragging on the hated military service strap.

But how often it happens, a person can not take absolutely everything. While still in Ukraine, Fet was invited to an appointment with his friends Břevský and in a neighboring estate he met a girl who did not leave his mind for a long time. It was the gifted musician Elena Lazich, whose talent struck even the famous composer Ferenc Liszt, who was on tour in Ukraine at that time.

As it turned out, Elena was a passionate admirer of Fet's poetry, and he, in turn, was struck by the musical abilities of the girl. Of course, without romance it is impossible to imagine the life and work of Fet. The summary of his novel with Lazic fits in one sentence: young people experienced tender feelings for each other. However, Fet is very much burdened by his distressed financial situation and does not dare to seriously develop the situation. The poet tries to explain his problems to Lazic, but the one, like all the girls in this situation, does not understand his torment very well. Fet direct text tells Elena that there will be no wedding.

The tragic death of a beloved

After that, he tries not to see the girl. Leaving for Petersburg, Athanasius realizes that he is doomed to eternal spiritual solitude. According to some historians studying his life and work, Athanasius Fet wrote his pagmatic friends too much about marriage, about love and about Elena Lazich. Most likely, the romantic Fet just got carried away by Elena, not intending to burden herself with more serious relationships.

In 1850, while visiting the same Břevskys, he did not dare to go to the neighboring estate to dot the i's. Later, Fet very much regretted it. The fact is that Elena soon tragically died. History is silent about whether her terrible death was a suicide or not. But the fact remains: the girl was burned alive in the estate.

Fet himself found out about this when he once again visited his friends. This shocked him so much that until the end of his life the poet blamed himself for Elena's death. He was tormented by the fact that he could not find the right words to calm the girl and explain her behavior to her. After the death of Lazich, there were many rumors, but no one has ever proven Fet's involvement in this sad event.

Marriage of convenience

Rightly judging that in the army service he is unlikely to achieve his goal - the title of nobleman, Fet takes a long vacation. Taking with him all the accumulated fees, the poet rushes on a journey through Europe. In 1857, in Paris, he unexpectedly marries Maria Petrovna Botkin, the daughter of a wealthy tea merchant, who, among other things, was the sister of the literary critic VP Botkin. Apparently, this was the same marriage of convenience, which the poet longed for so long. Contemporaries often asked Fet about the reasons for the marriage, to which he responded with eloquent silence.

In 1858, Fet came to Moscow. He is again overcome by thoughts about the scarcity of finance. Apparently, his wife's dowry does not fully meet his requirements. The poet writes a lot, many are published. Often the number of works does not match their quality. This is noticed both by close friends and literary critics. Seriously cooled to the work of Fet and the public.

Landowner

At about the same time Leo Tolstoy leaves the capital. Sitting in Yasnaya Polyana, he tries to return inspiration. Probably, Fet decided to follow his example and settle in his estate in Stepanovka. Sometimes they say that here ended the life and work of Fet. Interesting facts, however, were found in this period. Unlike Tolstoy, who really gained a second wind in the province, Fet increasingly abandons literature. He is now fascinated by the estate and economy.

It should be noted that as a landowner he really found himself. Already after a while Fet increases his possessions, buying a few more neighboring estates.

Athanasius Shenshin

In 1863 the poet publishes a small lyrical collection. Even despite the small print run, it remained unsold. But the neighbors-landlords appreciated Fet in a completely different capacity. For about 11 years he held the elective office of a justice of the peace.

The life and work of Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet were subordinated to the only goal to which he went with amazing persistence - the restoration of his noble rights. In 1873, the royal decree comes out, which puts an end to the poet's forty years of toleration. He is fully restored in rights and legalized as a nobleman with the surname Shenshin. Athanasius Afanasyevich confesses to his wife that he does not even want to say aloud the name of Fet that he hated.