Tragic love of Alexander Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova

“The Creator sent You to me …”

“The Creator has sent you down to me, you, my Madonna, of the purest charm, the purest sample … “ – so in his poems the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin called his wife Natalya Nikolaevna Pushkin (nee Goncharov). All of us, studying at school, heard the story of the poet’s love for his wife and that this story ended with a fatal duel and death. Pushkin… Many contemporaries and people who later explored life and work Pushkin, even blamed Natalia for his death. Meanwhile, in this story there is a lot that is not told in school lessons.

Pushkin and Goncharova met at one of the Moscow balls and immediately liked each other. Soon the poet asked for the hand and heart of his beloved, although he courted other beauties. But, Natalia he truly fell in love.

Family Goncharovs lived in poverty. Grandfather Natalia squandered a huge fortune, and her father, after falling from a horse, became mentally damaged and often drank. Her mother, Natalia Ivanovna Goncharova (nee Zagryazhskaya), the daughter did not like the groom, and she tried to prevent the wedding from taking place. In particular, she insisted on postponing the wedding for two years. The bride, they say, is still too young, and Natalya also had two older sisters for marriage, and the youngest should not marry before them. Pushkin, who was not distinguished by his docile character, unexpectedly agreed to everything. During this time, other gentlemen were also looking for Natalya’s attention, but she was firm and said that she would only go for Pushkin… And so it happened. They got married two years later.

Curious fact: during the wedding Pushkin accidentally hit it with a lectern, a cross fell from it, the candle in the poet’s hands went out, and the hand of the best man holding the crown over him went numb, and he had to be replaced. Whether these were signs of fate or just an accident, now it is difficult to say. Nevertheless, they became husband and wife.

Difficulties in family life

Natalia Goncharova was a modest girl, even quiet. And at the time of the wedding, in matters of love, completely inexperienced. The same cannot be said about Pushkin. By his own confession, his wife was one hundred and thirteenth. And as it turns out later, it will not be the last. But first things first.

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At first, the couple were very happy. They spent a lot of time together, walking in Tsarskoe Selo, where they moved to live. They began to go to balls, where the beautiful wife of the famous poet was very well received. Friends didn’t recognize Pushkin: the poet became calmer, more complaisant. Soon Natalia became pregnant, and then difficulties began, which can be traced in their further family life. Namely:

• Natalia Goncharova she was smart (she was even the best chess player in St. Petersburg), but she was very shy, as a result of which, she did not know how to maintain small talk, and Pushkin often became simply bored with her. The poet, for all his love, almost until the end of his life considered her a fool, whose destiny was to bear children.
• The Pushkins lived beyond their means. Balls, expensive rented apartments in the center of St. Petersburg – all this was beyond the means of the poet. And yet, it was. As a result, Pushkin had to around everyone and everything. The family had huge, fabulous debts to usurers, landlords, greengrocers, tailors, friends and many others. Unable to get money, the poet often sat down at the card table, hoping to win it back, but lost even more. Only gambling debts Pushkin numbered several thousand. There is even an opinion that the poet was looking for death, because he did not see a way out of this situation.
• The poet was not faithful to his wife. He was loving and cheated on her with others. Including my own sister Natalia – Alexandrina… Life Explorers Pushkin describe the story of the lost Alexandrina a pectoral cross, which was soon found in the poet’s bed. Although at the same time Pushkin loved his wife and felt guilty before her. He always considered his wife “taller and cleaner” than other women.
• But in relation to his wife, Pushkin was morbidly jealous. He was jealous of her dances, compliments, looks. Perhaps because he himself was not without sin.
• Natalia Nikolaevna gave birth Alexander Sergeevich four children Pushkin adored. The pregnancies were hard Natalia almost could not leave the house, not to mention balls and social events. The poet went there without her, clearly bored in her company. But, in spite of everything, he loved her. And he was jealous of everyone, which played a fatal role in his fate.

The true reasons for the fatal duel

There are different versions of why the cavalry guard Georges Dantes began to get caught up in Natalia Pushkina…

According to one version, his mistress persuaded him to do this. Idalia Poletikawho hated Pushkin for the insult inflicted on her by the poet to annoy Pushkin, and at the same time, hide their own connection with the French.

According to another, he needed a high-profile romance with a lady famous in the world in order to avert suspicions of a homosexual relationship with the baron. Louis von Heeckerenwho recently adopted him. Be that as it may, he courted impudently and persistently. At first, his attention was flattered Natalya Nikolaevnaalthough she did not reciprocate his feelings, it later became offensive. Outraged by such audacity Pushkin challenged the Frenchman to a duel.

However, then, in November 1836, the duel did not take place. Friends Pushkin, wife, her sisters – all around, by hook or by crook, tried to convince the poet to withdraw the challenge. He listened to them. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief D’Anthes married to Ekaterina Goncharova, sister Nataliabut the nightmare didn’t end there. D’Anthes continued to chase Natalia, and once at a ball he made a rude joke about her. Pushkin and so by nature he was quick-tempered, and such impudence completely pissed him off. He wrote an insulting letter to Baron Heeckeren, forcing the one to call Pushkin to a duel. The poet knew that the baron himself, because of his status, did not have the right to participate in duels, which means to shoot instead of him will Dantes… The duel, canceled in November, took place in January 1837…

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Duel, cloudberries and the end of love

Before the duel Pushkin going about his usual business as if nothing was happening. Then there was the duel itself, in which the poet was mortally wounded in the stomach. After being wounded, he was brought home. Pushkin lived another forty-six hours.

Pushkin remained sane to the very end. And before he died, he suddenly really wanted cloudberries. His second Dansas sent for her immediately. When the berries were brought Pushkin wished his wife to feed him from her hands. He ate with great appetite, saying: “Oh, how good!” Thereafter Natalia Nikolaevna I went into the office for a short time, and at that very moment at Pushkin the agony began, which did not last long. Returning and seeing her dying husband, Natalia sobbed, began to push him and shout: “Pushkin, Pushkin, are you alive ?!” But he died.

So the story of such an extraordinary, tragic, but at the same time great and true love ended.