The Village (Ivan Bunin novel)
Encyclopedia
The Village is a short novel by a Nobel Prize-winning Russian
author Ivan Bunin written in 1909 and first published in Sovremenny Mir journal (St.-P., ##3, 10-11, 1910) under the title Novelet (Повесть). The Village caused much controversy at the time; it was highly praised among others by Maxim Gorky
(who from then on regarded the author the major figure in Russian literature) and is now generally regarded as Bunin's first masterpiece. Composed of brief episodes in the Russian provinces at the time of the Revolution of 1905 and set in the author's birthplace, it told the story of the two peasant brothers, one a brute drunk, the other a gentler, more sympathetic character. Bunin's realistic portrayal of village life jarred with the idealized picture of 'unspoiled' peasants which was common in the mainstream Russian literature, and offended many with characters some of which "sunk so far below the average of intelligence as to be scarcely human".
The first part of the novel, called The Morning (Утро), having been premiered as a recital before a Moscow literary circle audience, was first published in Utro Rossii newspaper (1909, #34, November 15). On February 10, 1910, Bunin sent the first part to Saint-Petersburg's Sovremenny Mir for it to be published in March, promising the remaining parts for the April issue. But in April he unexpectedly left for North Africa
and stayed at Capri
, so the publication was postponed.
"What I am now engaged with is the completion of Деревня novelet. Two days will be spent in Moscow, then I'll depart for Orlovskaya gubernia
to put all my energy into the work", Bunin told Odessky Novosty correspondent on May 16. These plans were disrupted by the writer's mother's illness and death. It was only after the burial that he returned to the unfinished book. On August 20, 1910 Bunin informed Gorky in a letter:
On September 2, 1910, the manuscript was sent to Sovremenny Mir and was duly published in ##10 and 11. This second part again, was tried out at a public recital event at the Moscow Среда literary circle on September 19, where, according to Наш журнал magazine, "the audience was deeply impressed".
critics. "Who could have thought that this refined poet... of all things exotic and 'otherworldly'... would create such an ultra-real, Earth-smelling piece of truly rough literature", V. V. Vorovsky
wrote.
Literary critics from both the left and the right, were unanimous in one verdict: "peasantry in Bunin’s novel was painted by one brush: black". "Poignant hopelessness is what this gloomy tapestry emanates; pessimism and even negativity is what felt in every stroke of the painter’s brush", wrote Odessky Novosty critic (signed N.G.) on October 13. "Each and every page of it cries out something about how vile and ugly Russian muzhik is, to what extent Russian peasantry is degraded", agreed L.Voitolovsky of Kiyevskaya Mysl, arguing that not a trace of light could be found there, that could be seen as present in Russian rural life-related works of Chekov, Turgenev, Uspensky
and Reshetnikov
. "Bunin's pattern is monochromatic and monotonous, always slightly tendentious", wrote Ye.Koltonovskaya in 1912.
By all this Bunin wasn't impressed at all. "Read some of what's been written. Both praises and put-downs are so utterly banal and flat,” he wrote Gorky. The latter replied:
Contemporary critics picked at the novel's density which was unusual for Ivan Bunin's prose which up until then was placid and classicist in tone and form. According to Gorky, "if one single weakness should be pointed out, it might be summed up by one word: density. Too much material. Each page resembles a museum". Preparing the first edition of Complete Bunin publication, the author edited the original text heavily in order to make it more 'spacious'. He went on doing this over the years. Boris Zaitsev remembered that even after having been given the Nobel Prize, Bunin continued to re-write parts of Деревня, expressing disstisfation with his own work in rather strong terms.
"What he did before <Деревня> was tell of things that happened yesterday, things that warranted some kind of retrospect assessment – and all those things bore a kind of elegiac shade of reminiscence that was so dear to his heart", Soviet poet and critic A. Tvardovsky wrote. This new work was totally different. According to to Tvardovsky, Bunin shared his character Balshkins's views on rural Russia's degradation as fatal in terms of the country's future history. "The utter gloominess of this short novel in retrospect could be seen as a kind of mental preparation towards breaking up with his Motherland that followed years later", the critic argued.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
author Ivan Bunin written in 1909 and first published in Sovremenny Mir journal (St.-P., ##3, 10-11, 1910) under the title Novelet (Повесть). The Village caused much controversy at the time; it was highly praised among others by Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
(who from then on regarded the author the major figure in Russian literature) and is now generally regarded as Bunin's first masterpiece. Composed of brief episodes in the Russian provinces at the time of the Revolution of 1905 and set in the author's birthplace, it told the story of the two peasant brothers, one a brute drunk, the other a gentler, more sympathetic character. Bunin's realistic portrayal of village life jarred with the idealized picture of 'unspoiled' peasants which was common in the mainstream Russian literature, and offended many with characters some of which "sunk so far below the average of intelligence as to be scarcely human".
History
Ivan Bunin completed the first part of The Village in September 1909, in Moscow, working, as his wife Vera Muromtseva attested, with extraordinary intensity. In a letter to Gorky the writer himself spoke of "sleepless nights" and "hands shaking" from nervous exhaustion.The first part of the novel, called The Morning (Утро), having been premiered as a recital before a Moscow literary circle audience, was first published in Utro Rossii newspaper (1909, #34, November 15). On February 10, 1910, Bunin sent the first part to Saint-Petersburg's Sovremenny Mir for it to be published in March, promising the remaining parts for the April issue. But in April he unexpectedly left for North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and stayed at Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, so the publication was postponed.
"What I am now engaged with is the completion of Деревня novelet. Two days will be spent in Moscow, then I'll depart for Orlovskaya gubernia
Oryol Oblast
Oryol Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: -Geography:It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Mid-Russian Highlands. Kaluga and Tula Oblasts border it in the north, Bryansk Oblast is located to...
to put all my energy into the work", Bunin told Odessky Novosty correspondent on May 16. These plans were disrupted by the writer's mother's illness and death. It was only after the burial that he returned to the unfinished book. On August 20, 1910 Bunin informed Gorky in a letter:
On September 2, 1910, the manuscript was sent to Sovremenny Mir and was duly published in ##10 and 11. This second part again, was tried out at a public recital event at the Moscow Среда literary circle on September 19, where, according to Наш журнал magazine, "the audience was deeply impressed".
Concept
The novel's title had to do with an idea formulated by one of its characters, a local self-styled eccentric named Balashkin. According to the latter, Russia as a whole amounts to one huge Village and "the fate of its wild and poor peasantry is the fate of the country as such". "My novel depicts the life of rural Russia; along with one particilar village it is concerned with life of Russia as a whole", Bunin told Odessky Listok newspaper in 1910.Critical reception
In October, 1909, Birzhevye Vedomosty newspaper's literary critic predicted that "This new thing, ideologically very explicit, will cause controversy and stir up both the left and the right". Indeed, The Village came as a surprise for many, especially for MarxistMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
critics. "Who could have thought that this refined poet...
V. V. Vorovsky
Vatslav Vatslavovich Vorovsky was a Marxist revolutionary, literary critic, and Soviet Russian diplomat...
wrote.
Literary critics from both the left and the right, were unanimous in one verdict: "peasantry in Bunin’s novel was painted by one brush: black". "Poignant hopelessness is what this gloomy tapestry emanates; pessimism and even negativity is what felt in every stroke of the painter’s brush", wrote Odessky Novosty critic (signed N.G.) on October 13. "Each and every page of it cries out something about how vile and ugly Russian muzhik is, to what extent Russian peasantry is degraded", agreed L.Voitolovsky of Kiyevskaya Mysl, arguing that not a trace of light could be found there, that could be seen as present in Russian rural life-related works of Chekov, Turgenev, Uspensky
Gleb Uspensky
- Early life :Uspensky was born in the city of Tula, where his father was a government official. He attended the gymnasiums at Tula and Chernihiv, devoting much of his time to the reading of the Russian classics. He studied at the university of St. Petersburg for a short time in 1861, until it was...
and Reshetnikov
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov was a Russian author. In his short 29 ½ years he published to critical acclaim a number of novels dealing with the plight of the lower classes.-Early life:...
. "Bunin's pattern is monochromatic and monotonous, always slightly tendentious", wrote Ye.Koltonovskaya in 1912.
By all this Bunin wasn't impressed at all. "Read some of what's been written. Both praises and put-downs are so utterly banal and flat,” he wrote Gorky. The latter replied:
Contemporary critics picked at the novel's density which was unusual for Ivan Bunin's prose which up until then was placid and classicist in tone and form. According to Gorky, "if one single weakness should be pointed out, it might be summed up by one word: density. Too much material. Each page resembles a museum". Preparing the first edition of Complete Bunin publication, the author edited the original text heavily in order to make it more 'spacious'. He went on doing this over the years. Boris Zaitsev remembered that even after having been given the Nobel Prize, Bunin continued to re-write parts of Деревня, expressing disstisfation with his own work in rather strong terms.
"What he did before <Деревня> was tell of things that happened yesterday, things that warranted some kind of retrospect assessment – and all those things bore a kind of elegiac shade of reminiscence that was so dear to his heart", Soviet poet and critic A. Tvardovsky wrote. This new work was totally different. According to to Tvardovsky, Bunin shared his character Balshkins's views on rural Russia's degradation as fatal in terms of the country's future history. "The utter gloominess of this short novel in retrospect could be seen as a kind of mental preparation towards breaking up with his Motherland that followed years later", the critic argued.