Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina (Natalia Goncharova) is one of the few Russian women whose actions were discussed not only during her lifetime, but also centuries after her death. Her image was sung by the greatest of Russian poets, and at the same time, in the eyes of many, she was and remains the cause of the death of her brilliant husband.
Family
The future wife of Alexander Pushkin was the daughter of Nikolai Goncharov. His ancestors were merchants who, under the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, were granted the nobility by the highest decree. Being the only son of his parents, Natalya's father received an excellent education, in 1804 he was enrolled in the College of Foreign Affairs, and after some time, having received the rank of collegiate assessor, he took the post of secretary of the Moscow governor.
His wife - Natalya Ivanovna, nee Zagryazhskaya, was a maid of honor at the imperial court. Seven children were born from their marriage. Natalia Goncharova is the fifth child in the family.
Childhood andyouth
The first years of her life Natalia Goncharova spent in the countryside: first in the village of Karian, Tambov province, then in the estates of Yaropolets and the Linen Factory. Then the family moved to the capital.
Natalia Goncharova, like her brothers and sisters, received an excellent education at home. Children were taught Russian and world history, geography, Russian and French languages and literature. At the same time, Natalia, who was the youngest of the Goncharov sisters, was distinguished by exceptional beauty. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, her sisters were also quite attractive, but all three had a huge drawback at that time - the girls were dowryless, since their grandfather squandered the entire family fortune with his French mistress and left only debts to his son.
Matchmaking
Alexander Pushkin and Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova met in Moscow at the end of 1828, at a ball given by dance master Yogel. The beauty and grace of the girl made an indelible impression on the poet. After 4 months, Pushkin, in love, asked her parents for her hand in marriage, choosing Fyodor Tolstoy, the "American", as an intermediary.
Goncharova Sr. did not refuse him, but did not give her consent to this marriage, motivating her decision by the fact that her daughter is still too young to start a family. In fact, she most likely dreamed of a more brilliant match for Natalia, and also did not want to enter into a relationship with a freethinker who did not enjoy the favor of the court.
Pushkin was very upset and with a heavyheart left for the army in the Caucasus. Returning to Moscow in September, he hurried to the Goncharovs, where he was met with a cold reception. Probably, during the absence of the poet, the potential mother-in-law found out the true state of his finances and learned about the fiance's addiction to cards. In addition, Natalya Ivanovna Goncharova was pious and adored the late emperor, so she abruptly interrupted Pushkin, who tried to criticize the policies of Alexander the First or play a trick on those who showed ostentatious piety. It seemed that the poet would never be able to achieve the location of the family of the girl who captivated his heart, and he would never be able to call her his wife.
Love story of Natalia Goncharova and Pushkin
In the spring of 1830, Alexander Sergeevich was in St. Petersburg. Through mutual acquaintances, he learned that the Goncharovs were ready to agree to his marriage to their daughter. He hurried to Moscow and again made an offer, which was accepted. Moreover, close friends of the family subsequently noted that Natalia Goncharova herself, who at that time was already seriously passionate about the poet, played a decisive role in this matter.
Since Pushkin was under secret supervision, he was obliged to inform Emperor Nicholas I personally about his actions. In response to a letter about his desire to marry, the monarch conveyed his “favorable satisfaction” through Benckendorff, but said that he intended to continue to instruct the poet with advice.
Engagement
The groom, along with the bride, as well as the future mother-in-law, went to the estateLinen Factory to introduce himself to the head of the family. A few days after meeting the father-in-law, Pushkin and Goncharova got engaged, but the wedding had to be postponed due to dowry negotiations.
The mother-in-law constantly clashed with her son-in-law, so many acquaintances thought that this wedding would never take place, especially since the death of the poet's uncle, Vasily Lvovich, made it impossible to marry the young until the end of mourning.
The poet was forced to leave for Boldino and stayed there because of the cholera epidemic. Before the trip, he again quarreled with Madame Goncharova and later wrote her a letter in which he said that her daughter could consider herself completely free, although he himself would never marry any other woman. In response, the bride assured him of her love, which reassured Pushkin.
After much trouble about the dowry, on February 18, 1831, the young people were married in the Great Ascension Church, which was located at the Nikitsky Gate.
Short happiness
Subsequently, many doubted whether Natalia Goncharova loved Pushkin. However, the poet himself wrote to friends after the wedding that he was infinitely happy.
First, the newlyweds settled in Moscow, but then moved to Tsarskoye Selo, as Alexander Sergeevich sought to protect his wife from the influence of his mother-in-law.
The poet's plans to lead a secluded life away from the world were prevented by the arrival of the emperor there, who decided to take the household and the court away from the capitals in which cholera was rampant.
During one of the walks in the Tsarskoye Selo park, the Pushkins accidentally met Nicholas I and his wife. The Empress expressed the hope that the poet and Natalya Nikolaevna would become frequent guests at the palace, and appointed a day when the young woman was to pay her a visit.
In St. Petersburg
On her return to the capital, Natalya Nikolaevna Pushkina, whose fate at that time did not inspire concern in anyone, was favorably received in high society. At the same time, many noted her coldness and restraint, which were attributed to the natural shyness of a young woman.
On May 19, 1832, the first-born daughter Maria was born in the Pushkin family, and a year later Natalya Nikolaevna gave her husband a son, Alexander.
Life in the capital required a lot of expenses, and the enlarged family was constantly in a cramped position. In addition, Pushkin loved gambling and often lost his salary at the card table, which was already barely enough to pay for an apartment.
The situation improved somewhat when older unmarried sisters moved in with Natalia. They paid part of the cost of renting an apartment from their own funds. In particular, Ekaterina Goncharova entered the position of maid of honor to the Empress and received a good salary.
Meet Dantes
The appointment of Pushkin to the position of chamber junker, which the poet considered an insult, but was forced to accept, assumed the presence of him and his wife at all social events held in the palace. At one of these receptions, a fatal meeting took place, about whichmentions any biography of Natalia Goncharova, written both by her contemporaries and many years later.
So, in 1835, the wife of A. S. Pushkin met the adopted son of the Dutch envoy in Russia - cavalry guard Georges Dantes. According to contemporaries, before meeting this handsome officer, there had never been gossip in the world about any connections discrediting Natalya Nikolaevna, although everyone knew that Nicholas the First himself was not indifferent to her.
Georges Dantes did not hide the fact that he was in love with Goncharova, and did not hesitate to tell his friends that he hoped to win her heart over time. He even persuaded their mutual friend Idalia Poletika to invite Natalya Nikolaevna to his home and leave under a plausible pretext so that, left alone with his beloved, he could achieve her favor. According to researchers, such a meeting took place and became one of the reasons that prompted Pushkin to send a challenge to the handsome Frenchman.
Duel and death of first husband
In the autumn of 1836, all of St. Petersburg was already talking about the connection between Natalya Nikolaevna and Dantes, and on November 4, Pushkin and his friends received an anonymous libel in which the poet was awarded a cuckold diploma. The jealous husband fell into a rage and sent a challenge to Dantes. He was on duty in the barracks, and only Gekkern Sr. was at home. He accepted the challenge for his son, but asked for a reprieve.
Having learned about Pushkin's intention to defend his honor, the Frenchman wooed Ekaterina Goncharova. A happy girl, long in love with a handsome officer, does notonly gave her consent, but together with Natalya Nikolaevna and other relatives began to convince the poet that Dantes met with the Goncharovs in order to be closer to her.
Pushkin could not shoot himself with his sister-in-law's fiancé, so he called off the challenge. However, after the wedding of Dantes and Catherine, rumors about his affair with the younger Goncharova did not stop.
On January 23, at the ball, the Frenchman showed tactlessness in relation to Pushkina. Since shortly before this, Alexander Sergeevich promised the tsar not to challenge Dantes to a duel anymore, he wrote a sharp letter to Gekkern. He was forced to answer him with a challenge, but he could not fight Pushkin because of his diplomatic status, so his adopted son replaced him.
Nothing could have prevented the tragedy, and on January 27, the great poet and his offender met in a deadly duel on the Black River. As a result of the shot by Dantes, Pushkin was wounded and died two days later.
Widowhood
Emperor Nicholas I took care of Pushkin's family. He allocated funds to pay his debts, assigned a pension to the widow and daughters, and enrolled his sons as pages with the allocation of maintenance to them until the moment they begin to receive a salary.
Natalya Nikolaevna had no reason to stay in St. Petersburg and left with her children for the Linen Factory. Returning to the capital, she led a quiet life as an exemplary and caring mother and began to appear at court only 6 years after the death of her husband.
Second marriage
In the winter of 1844, Pushkin's widow met a friend of her brother, GeneralMajor Peter Lansky, who devoted his whole life to serving his homeland and by the age of 45 had never been married. A few months later he made an offer, and soon Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina-Lanskaya-Goncharova became a full-fledged mistress in his house.
In this marriage, she gave birth to three more daughters and was happy, although she noted that in her relationship with her second husband there was no passion, which was replaced by a “feeling with a touch of love.”
Natalya Goncharova-Pushkina-Lanskaya died in 1863 at the age of 51. She was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and after 14 years, her second husband found his last refuge next to her. The grave does not attract the attention of those who do not know the biography of this woman well, since only one surname is indicated on the tombstone - Lanskaya.
Now you know the full biography of the main muse of the greatest Russian poet. Judging by the memoirs of contemporaries, the portraits of N. N. Goncharova-Pushkina-Lanskaya give only a distant idea of her perfect beauty. However, she did not bring her happiness.
