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Turgenev's 'Live Relic' - Short Story Appreciation Masterclass (Patreon)

Published:
2021-04-25 08:43:37
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

This is our very first Short Story Appreciation Masterclass, and we're kicking off with one of my favourite short stories of all time.

'The Live Relic' by Ivan Turgenev lets you glimpse, if only briefly, a world of magic and wonder hiding beyond the everyday.

We're approaching these stories almost like a meditative practice, allowing ample room to pause, breathe, and reflect.

Series Format

  • Why and how to read the chosen work
  • Historical and biographical context
  • Assigned reading and guiding questions
  • Deep reading together

In the words of Samuel Johnson, ‘Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.’ And Turgenev, supreme craftsman of poignantly affecting, endlessly moving short stories, is endowed with the gift of reminding you of that which you already know.

So don your hunting gear. You'll need a cap, some sturdy boots, a rifle, an icon of your favourite saint tucked in your shooting jacket's pocket, and the Charles and Natasha Hepburn translation of A Sportsman's Notebook. 

We're heading into the forest of Spasskoye, in search of wonder, meaning, and magic.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 welcome to the first appreciation masterclass 
  • 0:20 introduction to 'Live Relic' 
  • 1:00 format for short story lectures 
  • 3:00 my first encounter with Turgenev 
  • 3:30 reading as meditative practice 
  • 5:00 the history behind the story 
  • 7:10 Turgenev's unhappy biography 
  • 8:00 comparing Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky with Turgenev 
  • 8:30 the Turgenic Ethos 
  • 8:50 the Divine Image 
  • 10:00 the Turgenev Lady 
  • 10:20 famous critics on Turgenev 
  • 15:00 questions to guide your reading 1
  • 6:30 deep reading begins 
  • 18:45 pause, reflect, breathe 
  • 1:04:00 short story wrap-up

Let me know any of your thoughts about the 'Live Relic'. 

If you find it useful, here are some guiding questions:

1) First and foremost, did you like it? If so, why? 

2) This story was written to affect social change. Turgenev published it to drum up some money to help the peasantry after a brutal famine. Does it succeed on other levels too? Would it work during the famine of our lifetime? 

3) The mark of falling in love with a new author is the degree to which you feel excited to try their other works. There are three more short stories by Turgenev slated for the Book Club ('Bezhin Meadow', 'Kasyan from Fair Springs', and 'The Singers'). Are you keen to read them?

Thanks for reading along!

Files

Previews only

Turgenev's 'Live Relic' - Short Story Appreciation Masterclass

0:00 welcome to the first appreciation masterclass 0:20 introduction to 'Live Relic' 1:00 format for short story lectures 3:00 my first encounter with Turgenev 3:30 reading as meditative practice 5:00 the history behind the story 7:10 Turgenev's unhappy biography 8:00 comparing Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky with Turgenev 8:30 the Turgenic Ethos 8:50 the Divine Image 10:00 the Turgenev Lady 10:20 famous critics on Turgenev 15:00 questions to guide your reading 16:30 deep reading begins 18:45 pause, reflect, breathe 1:04:00 short story wrap-up

Comments

Martin

Ben, thank you for the walk-thru of “The Living Relic”. I enjoyed it very much. During your reading one image leapt out at me and, in my opinion, acts as a metaphor for Lukerya. “The handkerchief was very plain, but clean and white." This item, the very purpose of which is to become soiled in order to remove the soil from another is an apt analogy for our heroine, is it not? Here she is, “a good for nothing”, and “a no-body”, a member of the scorned peasant class. She is “plain”, but also “clean and pure (white)”. How can this be? She is less than nothing, yet she is an object of veneration, a saint! She pleads not for herself, but for others, merely that their taxes be reduced. Perhaps serfs are not all only stupid and dirty, but they may, on occasion, exceed even royalty in their goodness. How effective this story must have been in opening the eyes of many in the upper classes to the plight of their fellow men, the serfs. With regard to your question about a modern-day famine, would it be appropriate to assert that we are at present enduring a famine of self-awareness? Is now a time in which we quickly and consistently accuse others of the very spitefulness that rules our own hearts? Indeed, we are suffering a famine of our own making, all the while blithely blaming others for it. I am not sure that “The Living Relic” would successfully address the famine mentioned above. Our present famine seems to cry out for the likes of a Johnathan Swift or some such.

Dee

I felt like I needed a short story yesterday. Reading Living Relic (I have the Penguin Richard Freeborn translation) gave me a peaceful, meditative pleasure, like reading a religious document. It slowed both my reading and my thoughts down, made me more mindful and present, yet paradoxically woke me up and motivated me on a day on which I’d felt sluggish and full of ennui. Listening to Ben’s lecture and his reading of a different translation in the evening was a perfect end to the day. Thank you Ben. And I’m eager to read more Turgenev and to see if this story is representative of his work.