Ghosts

In Ghosts, the first-person narrator is whisked into a supernatural adventure: a mysterious female phantom named Ellis takes him flying through the night sky across Europe. During this surreal flight, the narrator soars over cities, seas, and mountains in the company of the enchanting yet eerie Ellis. The boundaries of reality blur as he converses with her and witnesses various phantasmagoric scenes, all the while remaining skeptical and attributing the experience to possible hallucinations. Written in 1863 (and published a few years later), Ghosts was one of Turgenev’s “mystical tales” that baffled some contemporaries. Through poetic imagery, the story meditates on the fragility of life and the yearning to transcend it, ending with the narrator unsure whether the nocturnal journey was dream or reality.

Turgenev's experimentation with the supernatural in Ghosts can be understood as part of his broader literary development, as he sought to explore new narrative techniques and philosophical ideas. The ghostly elements in the novella are as much a commentary on the psychological states of the living as they are on the mysteries of the afterlife. The title itself suggests that the "ghosts" are not limited to the dead, but also represent the lingering emotions and unspoken traumas of the living, especially those unresolved connections that shape human existence.

The story also reflects Turgenev's fascination with the metaphysical and his correspondence with other literary figures of his time, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, with whom he discussed the novella. The exploration of the afterlife and the boundaries between the material and immaterial worlds in Ghosts reveals Turgenev's interest in existential questions about life and death, and the narrative is imbued with a quiet melancholy that reflects Turgenev's broader themes.

This critical reader's edition presents a modern translation of the original manuscript, crafted to help the reader engage directly with Turgenev's works through clean, contemporary language and simplified sentence structures that clarify his complex ideas. Supplementary material enriches the text with autobiographical, historical, and linguistic context, including an afterword on Turgenev’s history, impact, and intellectual legacy highlighting the personal relationships that shaped his philosophy (focusing on Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Gogol), an index of the philosophical concepts he employs (emphasizing Realism and Nihilism) a comprehensive chronological list of his published writings, a brief biography, and a detailed timeline of his life.

Turgenev actually wrote to Dostoevsky about this novella Ghosts in a letter dated May 25th, 1863:

"Dear Fyodor Mikhailovich, I have not written to you for so long because I wanted to say something positive to you. Now I can inform you that I have begun to rewrite a thing - I don't know what to call it - at any rate not a story - rather a fantasy, under the title: "Ghosts". - It has long been in my mind, but I have long for it - and for nothing - did not take it. I am afraid, as if it would not seem too unmodern, almost childish - especially in the current difficult and important time. - However, you will see for yourself - and if necessary, I will write a small - apologetic; preface or introduction. You will receive it in two or three weeks. - It is too two pages of typewritten paper, by my reckoning. - I have settled here for the whole summer and hope to work. I couldn't do anything in Paris. - Write to me here. - The air is light here and the land is beautiful."