Origin and youth
Russian writer Apollinaria (Polina) Suslova was born in 1840 in the village of Panino, Gorbatovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod province. His father, Prokofy Suslov, began life as serf Count Sheremetev and worked as a clerk. Thanks to his extraordinary intelligence, he was able to grow up to be the manager of all the estates of the earl before the abolition of serfdom and achieve his freedom. Then Suslov moved to St. Petersburg, became a merchant and did everything to provide his daughters Apollinaria and Nadezhda a decent life and education.
At first the sisters studied at home with teachers, and then they were assigned to a boarding school for noble virgins. Polina was most influenced by the history of ancient Greece and ancient art in the school curriculum, and Nadezhda was interested in the natural sciences and began to publish her stories early in magazines, including Sovremennik. At that time, women could not get a higher education, but attending classes was not forbidden – and the sisters voluntarily went to St. Petersburg University, they went. There they got information and met students with whom they could attend balls and literature evenings.
Acquaintance with Dostoevsky
In 1861, 21-year-old Suslova met Fyodor Dostoyevsky, whose lectures and work enjoyed great success among progressive youth. At the time they met, the writer was 40 years old. By this time, he published the story “Notes from the House of the Dead” about the experience of hard work, published the literary and political journal “Vremya” with his brother Mikhail, and made his first marriage with Maria Isaeva. she had tuberculosis. The author was already quite famous at that time, but he wrote his main works after meeting Suslova. So, the great Pentateuch, which includes the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), Stupid (1866), Demons (1872), Young (1875), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
The writer’s daughter, Lyubov Dostoevskaya, claimed that Apollinaria attended all secular evenings, actively met people and was the first to show sympathy for Fyodor Mikhailovich.
“He revolved around Dostoevsky and addressed him in every possible way. Dostoevsky did not notice this. Then he wrote her a letter with a declaration of love. This letter was found in your father’s newspapers, it was simple, pure and poetic. It can be assumed that it was written by a timid young girl blinded by the genius of the great writer. Dostoevsky was touched, he read Polina’s letter, ”the daughter wrote.
The fan managed to melt the writer’s heart, and a passionate love began between them. Thanks to the help of Dostoevsky, the girl was able to publish the story “Quite” in the magazine “Time”.
Quarrels and separation
The relationship between Suslova and Dostoevsky was complex and constantly changing from love to hate. The girl often reproached her beloved for various reasons and asked him to divorce her “consumptive wife”. Later, in a letter to Nadezhda Suslova, Dostoevsky described his chosen one as a “sick egoist”:
“Egoism and pride in it is tremendous. He demands from people everything, all perfection, does not forgive a single flaw in terms of other good qualities, but frees himself from the slightest duty towards people.
In 1863, the lovers were supposed to go to Paris, but due to a fierce argument, Pauline went there alone. In France, a girl started an affair with a singing teacher, but the teacher cheated on her.
Lyubov Dostoevskaya wrote: “In the spring, Polina wrote a letter to her father from Paris, announcing the unsuccessful ending of her novel.” – The French lover cheated, but he did not have the strength to leave her, and he called his father to come to him in Paris. Because Dostoevsky delayed his arrival, Polina threatened him. [совершить самоубийство] – Favorite threat of Russian women. The frightened father eventually went to France and did everything possible to reason with inconsolable beauty.
After that, Suslova reconciled with Dostoevsky and they went on a joint tour of Germany. The author became interested in gambling and spent a lot of money on them. This greatly disturbed Apollinaria, who had to pawn her belongings for the sake of living.
When Dostoevsky’s first wife died of tuberculosis in 1864, the writer proposed to Suslova and was rejected. After parting, he wrote about Polina: “I still love her, I love her very much, but I do not want to love her anymore.”
Dostoevsky’s next wife was stenographer Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina, who fell in love with him. And Suslova married at the age of 40 to 24-year-old Vasily Rozanov, who became famous as a philosopher of religion and literary critic.
Suslova in the works of Dostoevsky
Literary critics found Suslova features in some of Dostoevsky’s characters. The most obvious heroine was Polina in the novel The Gambler, which tells about her love affair with a Frenchman, quarrels, the tense nature of the relationship and the protagonist’s passion for roulette. The work was written in 1863, when Dostoevsky was in debt due to gambling and signed a contract with a publishing house for the rapid publication of a new novel. Later, the writer took advantage of the services of a stenographer, who first became his wife.
In The Idiot, the author bestowed upon Suslova the qualities of Nastasya Filippovna: “In a black silk dress of a very simple and elegant style, her hair, which appeared to be dark blond, was simply removed at home; eyes dark, deep, forehead thoughtful; The expression on his face is passionate and almost arrogant. His face was a little thin, perhaps even pale.
According to literary critic and biographer Suslova Alexander Dolinin, the author used the characteristics of Apollinaria when creating the image of Katerina Ivanovna from the Brothers Karamazov. He noted that Ivan Karamazov’s words to Katerina Ivanovna (“At this moment you deliberately tortured me so that I could forgive you”) were similar to Dostoevsky’s message to Polina’s sister Nadezhda: “After all, she knows that I love her. . Why is he torturing me?”
Critics also believe that Avdotya Romanovna is similar to Apollinaria in Crime and Punishment: “Avdotya Romanovna was remarkably handsome – tall, surprisingly thin, strong, confident. On her face he looked like a brother, but he could even be called a brother. ” beauty. His hair was dark brown, slightly lighter than his brother’s; His eyes are almost black, sparkling, proud, and at the same time, sometimes, sometimes unusually gentle. She was pale, but not sickly pale; his face shone with freshness and health.