Thus begins Ivan Turgenev’s 1860 novella, First Love. Reluctantly he agrees, but in order to do the story justice, he must first write it down, promising to read it to them at a future date. His companions, desperately lacking any passion of their own, beseech him to tell them his tale. The third, Vladimir Petrovitch, has a story that is so out of the ordinary that he is reticent to tell it. Two of them tell stories that are completely lacking of passion and soul, revealing the shallowness of the men themselves. After the plates are cleared away and the middle-aged gentlemen are enjoying cigars, they trade stories of their first loves. In the late 1850’s, three wealthy Russians have supper at the home of one of the men.
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