Rudin

Rudin is a novel by Ivan Turgenev, first published in 1856. It was Turgenev's first novel and established one of his defining subjects: the gifted intellectual unable to direct his gifts.

Dmitry Rudin arrives unexpectedly at the country estate of Darya Mikhailovna Lasunskaya. His eloquence and breadth of ideas dominate the household, offering its guests a commanding life of the mind that seems to expose their complacency.

Lasunskaya's young daughter Natalya takes Rudin's ideals seriously and falls in love with him. When opposition demands a clear decision, her courage reveals the distance between his rhetoric and conduct: words fail the test of action.

Turgenev treats Rudin critically but not without sympathy, tracing the waste of a whole reform-minded generation through one restless life. The novel's “superfluous man” embodies brilliance without practical purpose, yet continues searching for a cause worthy of his language.

"It was a quiet summer morning. The sun stood already pretty high in the clear sky but the fields were still sparkling with dew; a fresh breeze blew fragrantly from the scarce awakened valleys and in the forest, still damp and hushed, the birds were merrily carolling their morning song."

This edition uses Constance Garnett's English translation.