Poor Liza by Karamzin

"He read novels arid idylls; he had a rather lively imagination, and often transported himself in thought back to those times (real or unreal, when, if one is to believe poets, everyone wandered carefree through the meadows, bathed in clear springs, kissed like turtledoves, rested under the roses and the myrtle, and spent all their days in happy idleness."

"It's a wonder, a wonder, my friend, that I could have lived quietly and happily before I knew you!"

How a whole lifetime can seem such a waste of time, how we can forget all those years filled with thoughts and dreams, filled with seconds.

I absolutely loved the marvelous descriptions of the pure thoughts, on both sides, how each wanted to be pure to the other. Especially the young man- unexpectedly- he too wanted to live like "brother and sister". And yet, Karamzin wisely asks, "Foolish young man! Do you know your own heart? Can you always answer for your actions? Does reason always rule your emotions?"

The dynamics of their love shifted after they had "intercourse", saying sex seems to almost insult their "accident", and they neither "made love" since they weren't emotionally ready or consciously to do so. Intercourse has changed everything,

"Platonic love had given way to those feelings of which he could not be proud, and which were no longer hew to him."

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No wonder Karamzin is thought to be one of the first Russian romantic writers. Similar to the style of Gogol, Karamzin binds the reader to the character, and creates this odd relationship. The way he asks theoretical and rhetorical questions, as if asking the reader why a certain action of the character took place, that is so attractive. We are no longer people in the 21st century reading about a character in a book, but conceptually we actually meet. That may sound odd, but I feel very attached to these characters.

Poor Liza! And so many have been betrayed. I thought it was interesting the way Karamzin first described Erast- only commenting on his appearance, that he was "nice looking." Reminds me of Balzac's Daughter of Eve. Female temptation is man.

Something I found while Googleing the book: