The unhappy life of Pelageya Turgeneva - the illegitimate daughter of the great writer

As a rule, before the fate of illegitimate children did not develop due to the fact that their parents refused to recognize them. But in history there were also cases when an illegitimate child was loved and taken care of, but evil fate still pursued the bastards all their lives. This is exactly what happened to Pelageya, the daughter of the great writer Ivan Turgenev, whose mother was a simple seamstress.

In 1841, a 23-year-old student at the University of Berlin, Ivan Turgenev, arrived at Spasskoye, the estate of his mother, Varvara Petrovna. There, a bored young gentleman met Avdotya Ivanova, a seamstress who worked for hire. A short romance broke out between them, as a result of which the girl became pregnant.

The young writer, having learned about the pregnancy of his mistress, expressed his readiness to marry Avdotya. But his mother, a cruel and wayward woman, was categorically against it. A family scandal erupted, during which the landowner promised to leave her son without an inheritance. There was already a similar example in the family - before that, Varvara Petrovna struck out her eldest son Nikolai from the will. The young man had the imprudence to marry a maid.

After an unpleasant conversation with his mother, upset and surrendered, Turgenev left for St. Petersburg. And the pregnant Avdotya was immediately escorted to Moscow to her parents. On April 26, 1842, a girl was born, who was named Pelageya. When the child was one year old, Varvara Turgeneva took the child to Spasskoye. She assigned her mother a good life allowance, punishing her never to mention her daughter and especially her father. Avdotya Ivanova soon got married and lived her life calmly, not worrying about the fate of the baby.

Pelageya began to live in Spasskoye, in her grandmother's house. At the same time, Varvara Petrovna did not even bother to tell her son about this. Pelagia's life on the estate was difficult. The landowner kept her in the position of a maid, without showing the slightest warm feelings. The girl was forced to do the hardest and dirtiest work. She lived in the servants' room, who, knowing about the origin of Pelageya, mocked her in every possible way.

Turgenev herself did not deny herself the pleasure of humiliating her granddaughter. When guests came to the estate, the lady ordered the girl to be dressed up as a young noblewoman and asked those present: “Well, what do you say? Who do you look like?" These events are known to us from the letters that Ivan Turgenev wrote to his friend Afanasy Fet. He himself learned about the fate of his daughter only after 8 years.

In 1850, Turgenev wrote to his beloved Pauline Viardot in France as follows:

Viardot, having learned the story of the unfortunate girl, was touched to the core. She immediately suggested that Ivan Sergeevich take Pelageya from the tormentor and bring her to Paris. So the eight-year-old illegitimate daughter of the writer left Russia in 1850, never to return there again.

The girl was settled in the house of Turgenev's married mistress, singer Pauline Viardot. The name Pelageya was unusual for the French, and the writer's daughter received a new name, Polina, in honor of the mistress of the house. But Turgenev did not dare to give his surname to the child for a very long time. Only 7 years later she was allowed to sign as Polina Turgeneva.

All these 7 years the girl lived in the house of Pauline Viardot. But she was happy for a very short time. Shortly after his arrival, problems began, which biographers describe in different ways. One version says that Viardot herself disliked Turgenev's illegitimate daughter. In another interpretation, the problems were associated with a conflict with the daughter of an aristocrat, Louise-Polina. Passions ran high and in 1857 Ivan Turgenev had to arrange his daughter in a good boarding school.

By this time, Polina had almost completely forgotten the Russian language. She dressed and behaved like a Frenchwoman, and only her facial features betrayed Slavic roots in her. In one of the letters to a friend, Turgenev talks about his daughter and laments because of her mediocrity. He writes that the girl grew up kind and calm, but at the same time completely devoid of creativity and romanticism. At the same time, Turgenev suggests that she will make a good wife and caring mother.

Polina was bored at the boarding house. During infrequent meetings with his daughter, the writer noticed that she was sad and thoughtful. It soon became clear that the reason for this was not only limitations. The girl fell in love with a young teacher. He seemed to reciprocate, but said that he was not going to marry.

After graduating from the boarding school, Polina Turgeneva settled with her father and his English governess in the writer's Parisian house in Bougeval. It was the first experience of a quiet life when the girl did not suffer. Soon she met a successful entrepreneur Gaston Brewer. The young man owned a glass factory, which brought in a good income. Ivan Sergeevich blessed this marriage and gave his daughter a solid dowry - 150 thousand francs.

The couple lived happily for 7 years. Two children were born in the marriage - daughter Jeanne and son Georges-Albert. The writer Elena Aprelova, who was friends with Turgenev, described this family as follows:

It seems that now Polina Turgeneva will be happy and fate should reward her for all her suffering. But that didn't happen. Gaston soon went bankrupt and began to abuse alcohol. At first he simply insulted his wife and children, and then he began to dissolve his hands. From her husband, who turned into a tyrant, Polina fled with her children to Switzerland. She had no money, and Ivan Turgenev paid for everything.

The father did not spare money for his daughter and grandchildren, because he once swore that they would not know the need. He even planned to sell the estate in Spassky. At the same time, he wanted to give all the money he received to Polina. But these plans were not destined to come true. The writer, who by that time was suffering from spinal cancer, finally fell ill. He lived in the house of Pauline Viardot, who had already become a widow.

Soon Turgenev died and one very unpleasant moment became clear. The writer was the sole heir of his mother, one of the richest women in Russia. But it turned out that all property, movable and immovable, as well as all the money, he bequeathed to Pauline Viardot. The woman did not plan to share with anyone and the daughter of the classic was left without a livelihood.

Polina Turgeneva-Brewer tried to challenge her father's will in court, but lost the case. So in the life of the writer's daughter, a black streak began again. To feed herself and her children, she had to give music lessons. The woman never remarried. She lived a long life and died in 1918 at the age of 76.

Sadly, her children were not happy either. The son, Georges Albert, outlived his mother by only 9 years. He died after an illness in 1927, leaving no heirs. Daughter Jeanne was never married and she also had no children. She was a woman with a broad outlook and knowledge in many areas. She spoke five languages and made a living teaching. In addition, she tried herself in literature and at one time wrote poetry, however, in French.

Jeanne Brewer-Turgeneva left this world in 1952. She became the last descendant of the direct line of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, and with her the lineage of the great Russian writer was interrupted.