I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 8: Belinsky, the White Moonlight of Russian Literature

Regarding Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky, the official version is that he was "the pioneer of the civilian intellectuals who completely replaced the aristocracy" and "the pioneer of Russian social democracy."

To put it more abstractly, Belinsky was the person who truly opened the "Big Key" era in Russian literature.

After him, if you, as an intellectual, don’t even dare to comment on politics, then are you still a worthless intellectual?

He had a profound influence on the Russian literary scene and also had a profound impact on a large number of people. He is a well-deserved white moonlight in the Russian literary world.

More things can be discussed later, and let's just talk about what's happening at the moment. Even though he is already familiar with Belinsky, at this moment, Nekrasov is still preparing to meet Belinsky with a pilgrimage-like mood.

For Nekrasov, there is no doubt that Belinsky is his idol today, and he is also a literary idol in the eyes of many young people today.

After all, under the high-pressure policy of Tsar Nicholas I, the entire society was stagnant, silent and dark, and literature became the only medium that could allow for relatively free discussion of social issues.

Literary criticism, especially political literary criticism, has undoubtedly become the most effective form of expressing philosophical and political ideas.

It was in the form of literary criticism that Belinsky enthusiastically discussed all social and ideological issues, and with his unswerving courage and enthusiasm to break through all barriers, he gave a powerful criticism of the drowsy social status quo.

He used literary criticism to criticize the Tsar's rule and the backward serfdom system, and ridiculed the academic cliques in the literary world, the court scholars, the bureaucratic politicians, and the pedantic and narrow-minded eulogists of love and romance. This new perspective on the world and life, coupled with his unique way of expression, stimulated the drowsy Russian intellectual world like a sobering agent.

Young people in St. Petersburg and Moscow began to eagerly await his articles from the 25th of every month. University students repeatedly ran into cafes to ask whether the "Fatherland Chronicle" had arrived, and they rushed to read the magazine as soon as it arrived.

When I found his articles, I "read them all in one breath with fanatical sympathy, laughing and arguing as I read..."

Nekrasov was once one of these college students. Now, with his own efforts, he has successfully met his idol and together they are promoting the birth of a new literary trend in Russia.

Just thinking about this matter made Nekrasov feel excited, and the two manuscripts in his hands undoubtedly showed that the leader of a new literary trend seemed to have appeared!
Thinking about these things, Nekrasov walked into Belinsky's apartment. After asking the maid to inform him, Nekrasov soon saw Belinsky sitting in deep thought at a desk full of various books and papers.

Although a critic still highly sought after in Russian literary circles today, Belinsky's financial situation was never good.

The remuneration was not small, but it was not very generous either. In addition, he was rarely willing to accept help from his aristocratic friends. Therefore, to this day, Belinsky's residence is still simple, much better than Mikhail's room, but not much better.

Because of his frail health and years of high-intensity work, the man in front of him looked thin, haggard, and even a little unkempt, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, full of enthusiasm and some indescribable drive.

"Dear Vissarion Grigorievich, perhaps you should take a break. Did you stay up all night again? Why didn't you even change your clothes?" After seeing Belinsky's expression, Nekrasov, who was originally excited, suddenly cooled down and suggested with a hint of concern:
"You can't keep up this routine." "But our business has just made progress recently, and there's still a lot of work to do. Losing some sleep isn't a big deal." He waved his hand, and his eyes, emitting a certain light, suddenly looked at the thing in Nekrasov's hand.

"What did you bring me? The maid said it seemed to be something very important."

"A new Gogol." Nekrasov took a deep breath, finally unable to contain his emotions. "It's a pity that my time with him was too short to clearly judge his current inclinations, but there's no doubt that his work speaks for itself. This is a masterpiece that is deeply connected to the Russian people, and it will surely be a landmark work in our future endeavors!"

"What? Really?" After a moment's pause, the haggard-looking Belinsky suddenly stood up. His haggard face seemed to glow at this moment. He hurried over and said:

"Show it to me, Nicholas! You know, literary criticism sometimes has to be based on sufficiently good works. Otherwise, I can't convince myself, nor can I convince the readers, let alone convince those chattering old stubborn people!"

"Here you go! I'm sure you'll be surprised."

After handing the manuscript to the obviously excited Belinsky, Nekrasov did not move around, but found a quiet place to sit down, waiting for Belinsky's reaction after reading the two novels.

Soon the maid brought tea, and Belinsky began to read the first of the two novels, "The Anguish", very seriously.

“To whom can I tell my sorrow?
The dusk was fading. Large flakes of wet snow drifted lazily around the newly lit street lamps, settling in a soft, thin layer on roofs, horses' backs, shoulders, and hats. Iona Potapov, the rickshaw driver, was covered in white, like a ghost.

He sat in the driver's seat, motionless, his body hunched forward as far as a living person could be bent, as if he would not feel the need to shake off the snow even if a large snowdrift fell on him.

His pony was also all white, and it also didn't move at all."

With just a few strokes, the image of a lonely coachman on a winter night was sketched out, which immediately reminded Belinsky of the haggard-faced coachmen he saw one after another in the winter in St. Petersburg.

So what is this novel about?

The story of a coachman suffering while waiting for passengers on a winter night?

This statement may not be very original, after all, the relevant descriptions have already been brilliantly described by the great Pushkin and Gogol.

Perhaps he could write well, but he did not deserve the same praise as Nekrasov.

Although he thought of this, Belinsky, who never made a final judgment easily, continued to read on.
(End of this chapter)