Abstract
Bunin's "Night Conversation" (1912) counters two conceptions of Russian cultural life that he considered erroneous: the intelligentsia's idealization of the narod or "folk" and their reputed adherence to the realist tradition of Russian literature. Bunin does this by fashioning "Night Conversation" as a polemic with Turgenev's "Bezhin Meadow" and by carrying his argument into three facets of his work: portrait, conversation, and setting. "Night Conversation" can thus be seen as marking a crucial transition in the portrayal of the folk in Russian literature as well as in Bunin's own evolution as a writer. It signals a revamping of the peasant-hero from "realist" to "contemporary" and, what is more important, the implicit willingness of Russia's "last barin in literature" to assist in the passage.
Keywords:
- Keyword: Night Conversation
- Keyword: Bezhin Meadow
- Keyword: Ivan Bunin
- Keyword: Russian culture
- Keyword: narod
- Keyword: folk
- Keyword: Turgenev
- Keyword: portrait
- Keyword: conversation
- Keyword: setting
- Keyword: Russian folk literature
- Keyword: realist
- Keyword: contemporary
How to Cite:
Marullo, T. G., (1985) “Besmirching "Bezhin Meadow": Ivan Bunin's "Night Conversation."”, Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature 9(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1167
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