Fate and “the song of triumphant love”

This article explores Ivan Turgenev’s perspective on love and its significance in human life, shedding light on the mystery of how the author perceived his own existence in his later years, despite being primarily recognized as a social writer. While typically rooted in the bond between parents and child, in Turgenev’s late work “The Song of Triumphant Love” human love is portrayed as a malady sparked by the enchantment of a man upon a woman. Our hypothesis is that Turgenev may have been familiar with Russian love spells and used them in this short novel.