The novel of domestic life bids fair to
swallow up all the rest, and it is to this that the Russians are
devoting their attention.
Tourgheniev first made a name by his _Memoirs of a Sportsman_,
a powerfully written work, in which harrowing descriptions are
given of the miserable condition of the Russian serfs. Since the
publication of this novel, or rather series of sketches, he has
written a succession of able works of the same kind, in which all
classes of Russian society have been reviewed. No more pathetic
tale than the _Gentleman's Retreat_ (_Dvorianskoe Gnezdo_) can
be shown in the literature of any country. There are touches in
it worthy of George Eliot. In _Fathers and Children_ and _Smoke_,
Tourgheniev has grappled with the nihilistic ideas which for a
long time have been so current in Russia.
The study of Russian history, so well commenced by Karamzin, has
been further developed by Oustrialov and Soloviev.
The Malo-Russian is very rich in _skazki_ (national tales) and
in songs. Peculiar to them is the _douma_, a kind of narrative
poem, in which the metre is generally very irregular; but a sort
of rhythm is preserved by the recurrence of accentuated syllables.
Pages:
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474