IDEAS ABOUT THE EXEMPLARY LANDOWNER IN JANE AUSTEN’S AND IVAN TURGENEV’S WORKS
Taking Jane Austen’s and Ivan Turgenev’s works as an example, this article analyses the ethical requirements imposed upon the landowner in Russian and English novels about homes of the gentry. Positive characters in Russian and English literature of the 19th century were continuously portrayed in the novels depicting country estates of the nobility, whose morals were put to the test and strengthened in private life and effective management. The fact that personal, family, ancestral and national values were concentrated in the estate imposed upon the landowner serious duties and responsibilities towards his land. The exemplary English gentleman appears in Jane Austen’s novels as an owner of a large, rich and well-kept estate, worthy of being passed on to his children and capable of securing their future, as well as symbolizing family pride. The estate is arranged with good taste, revealing the personal touch of the owner and reflecting the English cult of the natural. The problems of personality, family and home, relevant for the Russian estate culture as well, were complemented in the Russian classical novel by the hard life of peasants. In Turgenev’s novels, the estate is not a refuge for private life but a place of heated debate about the fate of Russia and its people. The most important criteria for evaluating a Russian landowner are his proximity to the common people and knowledge of Russian life. According to the Russian novels, it is the duty of the nobleman and the landowner to take practical measures in order to make the people’s lives easier both in his estate and in Russia as a whole.