Introduction

First Love is a novella by Russian author Ivan Turgenev. First published in Reader’s Library in 1860, the story provides a first-person retelling of the first time the narrator, Piotr Vassilich Voldemar, fell in love. It is, as the author explains, one of his most autobiographical works and was inspired by his love for a neighbor with whom his father had an affair.

Summary

At a house party, a group of three men resolve to share the stories of their first loves. Two of the men admit they do not have interesting stories. However, the third—a forty-year-old with greying black hair named Vladimir Petrovitch—claims his is a worthwhile story but adds that he must write it out for the other men to read. Two weeks later, he gives them a manuscript describing the first time he fell in love.

The manuscript begins in Moscow in the summer of 1833, when Vladimir is sixteen. He is a romantic youth, spending his days playing as a knight in the Neskutchny gardens at his parents’ summer home.

Three weeks after the Petrovitchs arrive in the Neskutchny gardens, Princess Zasyekin and her daughter, Zinaïda, move into the modest lodge next door.

One day, Vladimir hears playful sounds over the fence and looks over to investigate. He sees a beautiful girl playing a game with a group of men and feels a strange urge to be one of those men.

A letter arrives from Princess Zasyekin requesting the assistance of Vladimir’s mother, Maria Nikolaevna, in navigating Russian aristocracy. At his mother’s request, Vladimir pays a visit next door to convey that she would be happy to assist the princess. When Vladimir returns home, his mother reprimands him for taking so long while delivering a message on her behalf.

Although the meeting Vladimir arranged for the Princess and Maria does not go well, Maria invites the Princess and Zinaïda over for dinner to maintain the appearance of propriety. Upon hearing this, Vladimir’s father, Piotr Vassilitch Petrovitch, remarks how the patriarch of the Zasyekin family was once wealthy but gambled everything away before he died.

At dinner, the Princess complains of her financial woes; Zinaïda comes across as much more of a princess in the eyes of her hosts as she spends the evening speaking perfect French, mostly with Piotr.

Later that night, Vladimir goes next door to spend time with Zinaïda. However, he is discouraged when he encounters a group of men yelling and laughing in a circle around her. Apprehensive at first, Vladimir joins at the request of Zinaïda, and they spend the night playing games that primarily involve winning different types of affection from her. Vladimir wins a round that earns him the right to kiss her on the hand; he immediately feels like he has fallen in love.

Vladimir spends the next few weeks trying to win Zinaïda's affection, though he is not alone in that effort. Many other suitors also spend time trying to win her admiration.

Zinaïda enjoys the attention but admits to Vladimir that she has no intention of being “caught in anyone’s claws.” Vladimir feels relentless torment from his deep love for Zinaïda but resolves to continue his pursuit because he feels great promise in his love.

As the summer progresses, Zinaïda's suitors notice a change in her. She begins to act strange and sad, oscillating between fits of mania and depression.

One night, while the group of men and Zinaïda are playing games, Zinaïda creates a story about a queen surrounded by men at a party who are all there to win her love. The story concludes with the queen leaving the party for a mysterious man waiting outside by a fountain. Vladimir surmises there must be an air...