Narrative
Poor Liza
Бедная Лиза
Nikolay Karamzin · 1792
Synopsis
Liza, a young peasant girl from the outskirts of Moscow, sells flowers in town to support her mother since her father's death. A young nobleman, Erast, wants to pay a whole rouble for a bunch of lilies of the valley; she refuses the money, and he asks her to pick flowers only for him from now on. They meet in the evening near the Simonov monastery. Then Erast goes off to war with his regiment; there he loses his fortune at cards and decides to marry a rich widow. Coming to Moscow one day, Liza sees him step down from a carriage.
Context
The text appeared in 1792 in the journal its author had founded the year before, then in book form in 1796; it was a great success and prompted many imitations. Readers believed it true: the pond at the foot of the Simonov monastery, near which the heroine lived, took her name, and people came to carve inscriptions on the trees along its banks, some moved, others mocking. In France, a French-language newspaper printed in Saxony made it known; Henri de Coiffier's translation appeared in 1802 and was reissued in 1819.
Who it is for
A short story of some thirty pages, readable in one sitting; the old French translation can be read free of charge online.
Prizes and reception
The story with which, according to Russian critics, modern Russian prose begins; Pushkin and Dostoevsky remembered it.
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