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: Night Conversation, Bezhin Meadow, Ivan Bunin, Russian culture, narod, folk, Turgenev, portrait, conversation, setting, Russian folk literature, realist, 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