Faust (novella)

Faust (Russian: Фауст, Faust) is a novella by Ivan Turgenev, written in 1856 and published in the October issue of the Sovremennik magazine in the same year. The story draws inspiration from Goethe's Faust, both as a tangible book around which the narrative revolves, and thematically. Turgenev narratively explores two contrasting concepts from Goethe: the Faustian desire for boundless pleasure and knowledge, and the moral impact of renunciation and self-restraint on the characters' lives.

Background

Turgenev wrote "Faust" in the summer of 1856, while residing at Spasskoye, his late mother's estate in the Oryol Province. The estate's descriptions closely resemble the environment of Spasskoye, and the narrator's past experiences in the story are often compared to Turgenev's own life. Notably, in 1854, Turgenev was introduced to his neighbor, Maria Tolstaya, Leo Tolstoy's sister, at her residence, Pokrovskoye. This real-life connection is often compared to the character Vera and her lack of interest in creative literature.

Turgenev's connection with Goethe can be traced back to when he studied at University of Berlin between 1838 and 1841. His admiration for Goethe's works can be attributed to his meetings with Bettina von Arnim, and with Goethe's future English biographer George Henry Lewes. Turgenev proudly referred to himself as "an inveterate Goethe man." In 1844, Turgenev published a Russian translation of the final scene from Part One of Goethe's Faust, which coincided with Mikhail Vronchenko's translation of the whole of Part One.