Alexander Herzen and Natalia Zakharina: an Episode from 1838. Love Fever, Christianity and Early Socialism

Abstract

Alexander Herzen has been the subject of an immeasurable number of biographical works as well as studies in the history of ideas, political philosophy, the history of philosophy, and a number of other disciplines. At the same time, we cannot say that the study of Herzen’s ideas has been exhausted, and while our knowledge of his biography is unlikely to expand significantly, the range of sources published to date is if not exhausted then at least close to it, a detailed study of Herzen within the framework of intellectual history and the history of political thought remains a highly relevant task. This is primarily due to the fact that, as the «big ideologies» of the 19th century recede into the past, it is time to undertake an in-depth analysis not only of the processes of forming their specific versions and debates within the framework of big ideological structures, but also to pay attention to theoretical transfers from one ideological framework to another and, far more important, to consider not from retrospect, knowledge about what these or those ideological and ideological structures will become in their development, but in synchronicity. This arrangement of the cognitive gaze is also close to Herzen’s mature philosophy, with its focus on alternatives (real ones), a history that develops as improvisation-not free of logic, but not subject to strict necessity either. In this article we focus our attention on a small episode of Herzen’s life - his stay in Vladimir in 1838 during several winter and spring months, between his arrival from Vyatka (after granting him relief from exile) and up to his marriage with his cousin Natalia Zakharina. In this small interval of time Herzen devotes almost entirely his time, free from non-burdensome service, to reflections on his past life, autobiographical experiences and love correspondence with his bride (with the latter including numerous material on the first two subjects). This focus on the intimate in the context of a mature romantic and socialist outlook turns out to be both a development of Natalia-Alexander’s «personal myth» and a new, in relation to the years 1834-1837, reflection on possibilities and ways for the self in the aspect of universal, all-important action/behavior/existence.