Poor Liza (Karamzin)
Short summary
Moscow environs, late 18th century. After her father died, fifteen-year-old Liza supported her elderly mother by selling flowers and crafts in Moscow.
One day, a well-dressed young nobleman bought lilies from her, offering far more than the asking price.
They began meeting secretly by an old oak near a pond. Erast, enchanted by Liza's innocence, dreamed of pure love away from high society. Their meetings grew passionate, and one stormy night Liza lost her innocence. Afterward, Erast's ardor cooled. When war broke out, he left for the army, promising to return. Liza waited faithfully for months. One day in Moscow, she saw Erast in a carriage and followed him. He confessed he was engaged to a wealthy widow to pay gambling debts, gave her money, and dismissed her. Devastated, Liza went to their meeting place.
At this point she threw herself into the water... In this way one who was beautiful in soul and body ended her life. When we are there in the new life, we will see each other...
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The narrators reflections and Lizas family tragedy
The story began with a narrator who wandered frequently through the environs of Moscow, particularly drawn to the area near Simonov Monastery. From this elevated position, he could observe the entire city spread out like a magnificent amphitheater, with its golden cupolas and countless crosses reaching toward the sky.
But most often I am drawn to the walls of Simonov Monastery by the memory of the lamentable fate of Liza, poor Liza. Oh! I love those things which touch my heart...
Near the monastery walls stood an empty cottage where thirty years earlier had lived beautiful Liza with her elderly mother. The cottage now stood without doors or windows, its roof long since rotted and caved in.
Lizas struggle and devotion to her mother
Liza's father had been a well-to-do peasant who loved work and led a sober life, but after his death, his wife and daughter fell into poverty.
The hired workers proved lazy and incompetent, forcing the family to rent their land for an extremely low rate. Liza's mother, weakened by constant grief over her husband's death, could no longer work.
Only fifteen-year-old Liza worked tirelessly to support them both.
She wove flax, knitted stockings, picked flowers in spring, and gathered berries in summer, selling everything in Moscow. Her mother often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, calling her God's mercy and the joy of her old age.
God gave me hands to work... you fed me with your breast and took care of me when I was a baby; now it is my turn to take care of you. Only stop grieving, stop weeping...
The fateful meeting with Erast
Two years after her father's death, Liza went to Moscow with lilies of the valley to sell. In the street, she encountered a well-dressed young man of pleasant appearance who offered her a ruble for flowers worth only five kopecks. When Liza refused the excessive payment, he charmed her with his gentle manner.
I think that beautiful lilies of the valley picked by the hands of a beautiful girl are worth a ruble. But since you won't take it, here are five kopecks for you.
He expressed his desire to buy flowers from her regularly and asked where she lived. When Liza returned home and told her mother about the encounter, the old woman warned her to be cautious, though she admitted the young man seemed kind. The next day, Liza returned with more flowers, hoping to see him again, but when evening came without his appearance, she threw the flowers into the Moscow River in disappointment.
Secret romance and growing love
That evening, as Liza sat spinning by the window, the young stranger suddenly appeared. He introduced himself as Erast and asked for fresh milk, which Liza eagerly provided. He listened attentively as her mother told him about their hardships, but his eyes remained fixed on Liza. Erast proposed to buy all of Liza's handiwork exclusively, eliminating her need to travel to the city so frequently.
Erast was a wealthy nobleman with a decent mind and good heart, but he possessed a weak and flighty character. He led a carefree life, constantly seeking pleasure in worldly amusements but often finding only boredom. He had read many novels and idylls, and his lively imagination transported him to idealized pastoral times. In Liza, he believed he had found what his heart had long been seeking.
Their secret meetings began, taking place every evening when Liza's mother went to bed. They met by the river, in the birch grove, or under ancient oak trees near a deep, clear pond. There, under the moonlight, they embraced chastely and spoke of love.
Dear Liza! I love you! And these words resounded in the depths of her soul like an enchanting heavenly music; she scarcely dared believe her ears...
Erast was enraptured by his shepherdess, as he called Liza, and seeing how much she loved him, he seemed more amiable to himself. All the glittering amusements of high society seemed insignificant compared to the pleasures of innocent love.
Foolish young man! Do you know your own heart? Can you always answer for your impulses? Is reason always the tsar of your feeling?
The seduction and its consequences
One evening, Liza came to their meeting place in tears. A suitor had appeared - the son of a rich peasant from a neighboring village, and her mother wanted her to marry him.
Erast comforted her, promising that after her mother's death, he would take her to live with him. When Liza protested that she was only a peasant, he insisted that the soul mattered most. In this moment of emotional intensity, Liza threw herself into his arms, and her purity was lost.
The error took only a minute... Ah, Liza, Liza! Where is your guardian angel, where is your innocence?
A thunderstorm broke out as if nature itself lamented Liza's lost innocence. Afterward, everything changed between them. Erast could no longer be satisfied with innocent caresses, and for him, Liza was no longer the angel of purity that had formerly inflamed his imagination. Platonic love gave way to feelings of which he could not be proud. Liza, having given herself completely to him, lived and breathed only in him, but she noticed the change in his behavior and often remarked that he seemed less happy than before.
Erasts departure for war
After five days of absence, Erast returned with sad news: he had to leave for war with his regiment. When Liza suggested he could stay, he explained that doing so would bring him dishonor and make him despised as a coward. They spent their final evening together in tearful farewells, with Liza promising to pray for his safe return every day. Erast gave money to Liza's mother, saying he didn't want Liza to sell her work while he was away. The old woman blessed him and expressed hope that he would return safely, perhaps even to attend Liza's future wedding.
The parting scene was deeply touching, with Erast standing under an oak tree at dawn, holding his pale and languid beloved as she bid farewell to her very soul.
Betrayal and Lizas tragic end
Two months passed in melancholy for Liza. One day, while buying rosewater in Moscow for her mother's eyes, she encountered Erast in a magnificent carriage. When she rushed to him, he led her into his study and delivered devastating news.
Liza! Circumstances have changed; I am engaged to be married; you must leave me in peace... Here is a hundred rubles—take it... Allow me to kiss you a last time—and go home.
Erast had not actually gone to war but had gambled away almost his entire estate. To restore his fortunes, he decided to marry a wealthy middle-aged widow.
Devastated, Liza wandered the streets in despair. She found herself at the pond where she and Erast had once met, gave her money to a neighbor girl named Anyuta to take to her mother, and threw herself into the water.
I cannot live... Oh, if only the sky would fall upon me! If only the earth would swallow up a poor girl! ... No! The sky will not fall, the earth will not shake! Woe is me!
The aftermath and lasting grief
Liza was buried near the pond under a somber oak tree. When her mother learned of her daughter's terrible death, her blood turned cold from horror and her eyes closed forever. Erast remained unhappy for the rest of his life, considering himself a murderer. The narrator, who had met Erast a year before his death and heard this story from him, often visited Liza's grave to meditate on her tragic fate.