his lodgings for the summer. Insarov is a Bulgarian patriot who is committed to overthrowing the Turkish rule in his country; when he was a child, his mother was violated and killed by a Turkish official, and when his father tried to avenge her, he also was killed. Insarov is now in exile in Russia, a poor student attending Moscow University while preparing to return to his country for an armed revolution. When Andrei introduces Insarov to Elena, she does not at first find him to be remarkable, but during later visits she discovers that his passionate commitment as a patriot matches her own idealistic nature, and she becomes increasingly attracted to him.

On an excursion to view the scenery around Tsaritsino Castle, Insarov displays the characteristics of the man of action. All the members of Elena’s household—except her father—join in the sightseeing, accompanied by Andrei and Insarov. In a setting which contains rich, clear detail, the party picnics on the historic grounds and then goes boating on a nearby lake. (The boating scene is a masterful demonstration of the delicate mood that Turgenev can evoke with language.) When the party is preparing to leave, however, they are accosted by some drunken Germans. When the largest—a giant of a man with bull-like strength—refuses to move aside so that Elena’s party might pass, Insarov suddenly takes command of the situation, quickly manhandling the German into the lake. Insarov’s bold action stands in contrast to the artistic sensibility of Shubin and the moral steadfastness of Andrei; it matches Insarov’s passionate commitment to his ideals. Soon after this incident, as Elena is writing in her diary, she realizes that she has fallen in love with Insarov.

Andrei comes to the realization that he loves Elena, and he despairs of his lost opportunity, as Shubin had earlier, but Andrei, like Shubin, remains a faithful friend to Elena and aids her in whatever way he can. Another concern of the age was the role of self-sacrifice in an individual’s life, and Andrei, like Elena and Insarov, illustrates this concern. When Elena learns that Insarov is leaving to move back to Moscow, she goes by herself to Andrei’s lodgings—a bold move for a woman in this culture—to see Insarov. When it begins to rain, she dodges into a roadside chapel, and shortly afterward, she sees Insarov walking down the road. In a moving, romantic scene, Elena confesses her love, and Insarov admits that he was leaving because he had fallen in love with Elena and feared that this love would distract him from his patriotic duties. As the rain falls about them, the two embrace, committing themselves to each other as they vow to marry.

Because of Insarov’s lower social position, the lovers keep their commitment to each other secret. Shortly afterward, Elena’s father returns to the summer house, since his mistress has left on a trip. While in Moscow, her father found a suitor for Elena, a man named Yegor Kurnatovsky, who is a successful bureaucrat. During his visits, the suitor adopts a condescendingly superior attitude toward Elena. She cannot help but compare him to Insarov, and indirectly, Turgenev draws a similar comparison for the reader: Although Kurnatovsky is an efficient administrator, he does not measure up to Insarov, for he lacks the ability to make a passionate commitment. He is without the burning desire to lead men toward a common goal. Unlike Insarov, he is not a remarkable man, not a man capable of heroic action.

Before Insarov and Elena can marry, he suddenly falls ill and hovers between life and death for eight days. During his long, slow recuperation, the Crimean War between Turkey and Russia breaks out, and Insarov plunges into support for his fellow Bulgarian patriots, working very hard although still ill. During this period, after her family has returned to Moscow for the winter, Elena and he secretly marry. Before their departure for the Bulgarian war zone, Elena tells her parents of her secret marriage; they strongly disapprove, her mother actually falling ill from the news. Although Anna finally forgives Elena, Nikolai refuses to do so. When the time comes for the loaded sleigh to pull away, however, he unexpectedly arrives with champagne for a farewell toast, and, in a moving scene, he blesses the marriage.

By April, Insarov and Elena have traveled as far as Venice, Italy, but Insarov’s illness is steadily worsening; he has tuberculosis. While waiting for a boat to take them across the Adriatic Sea, one evening they attend an opera by Guiseppe Verdi. (Turgenev himself was in love with an opera singer for most of his adult life, and his description re-creates the artistic effect of the performance with compelling detail.) Turgenev also portrays the beautiful, unique city of Venice as the couple moves through it in a gondola. They spend their days waiting in a hotel, where Insarov’s illness takes a turn for the worse. Just before the captain of the boat arrives, Insarov suddenly dies.

The novel ends as Elena boards the ship with Insarov’s coffin. Her parents receive a letter from her saying that she is committed to Insarov’s cause and will not return to Russia. In the closing chapter, Turgenev relates that Elena’s father went to the war zone and searched for her, but she had disappeared; there were rumors of a woman accompanying the battle forces, but those could not be substantiated. The attractive but shallow Zoya has married Elena’s former suitor, Yegor Kurnatovsky the bureaucrat; it is a suitable match, meeting her expectations of a husband and his of a wife. Shubin has moved to Rome and is a promising sculptor, and Andrei is a professor who travels widely at government expense. Although Elena’s father has parted from his mistress, he now keeps an attractive housekeeper who dresses suspiciously well for a person in her position. Obviously, she is his present mistress.