Ivan Turgenev, Mumu

Kathryn Ambrose (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Neil Cornwell, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 2.2.1.00: Slavic and Russian Writing and Culture: Old, Medieval and Tsarist, 700-1917.
Vol. editors: Neil Cornwell (University of Bristol), Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Andrei Rogatchevski (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1854

Places

Russia (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

Mumu

is one of Turgenev’s earlier works, and was written in 1854. This short story is the poignant tale of the deaf mute, Gerasim, and his dog, the eponymous Mumu. It is similar in its thematic content to

Zapiski okhotnika

[

A Sportsman’s Sketches

, or

Sketches from a Hunter’s Album

, 1852]. In the same way as this collection of stories,

Mumu

exposes the cruelty of serfdom, and raises questions about the power and control that landowners exert over their servants.

The story is set on the outskirts of Moscow, in the house of an old widow. The “lady of the house” remains unnamed for the duration of the text, which serves to emphasise her lack of human kindness, and also directs our sympathies towards the plight of Gerasim. It might be argued that the mistress is based on Turgenev’s

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1001 words

Citation: Ambrose, Kathryn. "Mumu". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24834, accessed 04 May 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Save this article