Option 2: Onegin's (Preferred) Reply Letter to Tatiana

My Dearest Tatiana,

The love and passion you expressed in your letter warmed my heart with the greatest joy. I could not but adore the deft grace, bare emotion, and honest love you wrote to me in telling me of your love. You are the one of whom I have dreamt of, the one I have been searching for, the one I need. I feel as though my life has slowly been leading to this one moment, where two lovers, destined for each other, finally unite and become the people they were always meant to be: together.

I've lived a lonely and empty life; the parties, women, and wine that I've seemed to enjoy throughout my years all have left me unfulfilled. But you. You are the one who will make my life complete; it will finally have the purpose that has hitherto eluded me.

I love you. I truly do. Please write again when you can as I cannot fathom another day without you.

Yours,

Eugene Onegin

Most Interesting Thing I've Learned About Russia

Welcome back one and all! Your friendly neighborhood Russian literature lover is back to the blog and writing about his favorite thing from the Russian Literature presentations from the past two weeks.

I must confess that I found the presentation and content of the Russian Literature powerpoint to be quite fascinating. I was very interested to discover the roots of existentialism in Dostoyevsky, the severe nihilism of Turgenev, and the narrative intricacies of Tolstoy.

Welcome! (and Intro to Onegin)

привет! Welcome to Daniel's Russian Literature Blog. This will be a semester long experiment in educating my reading viewers into the deep intellectual insights I have about Russian Literature. Scared? Well, that's not surprising. Never fear however! Soon, you will able to wrap your head around the intricate thematic layerings of Dostoevsky and the ethical musings of Tolstoy.


To start, we will begin with Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse: Eugene Onegin. The novel is narrated by the author, and the story often addresses the audience directly to establish a close relation between writer and reader. The story follows the titular character as he inherits land from his recently deceased uncle in Russia. Onegin is a described as a "pedant," having interests in academia but also enjoying romantic pursuits. He visits Russian operas and wines and dines with some of the famous people of his era.