The poem was written in 1832. Addressed to N.F. Ivanova, one of the poet’s acquaintances, who was the subject of his hobbies in his youth. Perhaps Lermontov dedicated the largest number of his poems to Natalya Fedorovna, the motive of which was: at the beginning of acquaintance - delight and admiration, and at the end - disappointed hopes and a vain thirst for love.

Ivanova Natalya Fedorovna
(From a portrait, drawn
artist V.F. Binneman)
* * *

Fragment of the poem's autograph
(page from Lermontov's notebook)

In addition to this poem, the following works by Lermontov were dedicated and addressed to Natalya Ivanova:

. "June 1831, 11 days"
. “To the album of N. F. Ivanova”
. "Vision"
. "It's time for the heart to be at rest"
. “The Almighty has pronounced his verdict”
. “God grant that you never know”
. "Exhausted by melancholy and illness"
. "Why a magic smile"
. "When there are only memories"
. “I loved from the beginning of my life”
. "Instantly running through the mind"
. “I can’t languish in my homeland”
. “It wasn’t you, but fate was to blame”
. "Romance to Ivanova"
. "Sonnet"
. "I'm not worthy, maybe"

Read by Maxim Levchenko

I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.

You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
Your smile and eyes,

And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days
And the whole world hated
To love you more.

Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?

Perhaps I am thinking heavenly
And I am convinced by the strength of spirit,
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?

Why did you promise so tenderly?
You replace his crown,
Why weren't you there at first?
What I finally became!

I'm proud! - sorry! love another
Dream of finding love in another;
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.

To foreign mountains, under the southern sky
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.

From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;

I will begin to deceive shamelessly,
So as not to love as I loved, -
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?

I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
So that your young hand -
Madman! - shake again!

Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew - I didn’t know you!

1832
Mikhail Lermontov Reads Maxim Levchenko

I do not stop before thee;
Neither your greetings, nor thy reply
Have no control over my soul.
Know that we are strangers from now.

You forgot: I"m single
For zbluzhdenya not give;
And so I donated years
Your smile and eyes,

And so I saw too long
As you hope young days
And the whole world has hated,
To love you stronger.

Who knows, maybe those moments
That leaked at your feet,
I robbed the inspiration!
And what do you replace them?

Perhaps thoughts of heaven
And the fortitude convinced
I would have given the world a wonderful gift,
And for me it immortality?

Why so tenderly promised
You replace it with a crown,
Why were you not first
By what has become at last!

I"m proud! - Sorry! Love others,
Dream to find love in the other;
What impression whatsoever Earth
I"m not a slave to the forbearance of God.

To a stranger mountains under sky south
I retired, maybe;
But we too know each other,
To forget each other.

From now on, I will enjoy
And I will swear all the passions;
All I will laugh
And cry don't want anyone to;

I will begin to cheat outrageously,
So as not to love as I loved -
Ile respect women may
When I changed the angel?

I was ready to die and flour
And the whole world call to battle,
Mladen to your hand -
Madman - once again shake !

Not knowing treacherous betrayal,
I gave you a soul;
Such souls you knew miles price?
You know - I don't know!

1832
Mikhail Lermontov

A year after breaking up with Sushkova, Lermontov was enrolled at Moscow University and had another girlfriend.
In poems written in the spring and summer of 1831, the mysterious initials N.F.I. appeared.
They stand for Natalya Fedorovna Ivanova. They met back in 1830, and at first she was only a dispassionate connoisseur of the poet’s work, a confidant of his thoughts, anxieties and hopes. And a year later the poet seriously fell in love with her. The love was mutual, they often meet, understand each other, but soon Ivanova cheated on the poet. This is a disaster for him. He bitterly confessed his dream.

Irakli Andronikov in his wonderful work “The Riddle of N.F.I.” conducted a whole investigation to find out who this mysterious N.F.I. was, to whom Lermontov dedicated a series of wonderful poems and absolutely proved that it was Natalya Feodorovna Obreskova, born Ivanova, he discovered a picturesque portrait of Ivanova and found an album with unknown poems Lermontov, dedicated to the Ivanov sisters. Irakli Andronikov ends his study with the words:

Lermontov turns to N.F.I. for the last time in order to part with her forever. With what bitterness he tells her about the two years that have passed! And with what pride - about your inspired work, with what faith in your great destiny! Here they are, these poems for separation:

I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.
You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
Your smile and eyes,
And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days
And the whole world hated
To love you more.
Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?
Perhaps a heavenly thought
And I am convinced by the strength of spirit,
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?
Why did you promise so tenderly?
You replace his crown,
Why weren't you there at first?
What I finally became!
I'm proud!.. forgive me!.. love another,
Dream of finding love in another;
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.
To foreign mountains under the southern sky
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.
From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;
I will begin to deceive shamelessly,
So as not to love as I loved;
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?
I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
So that your young hand -
Madman! - shake again!
Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew - I didn’t know you!

“K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...)” Mikhail Lermontov

I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.
You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
Your smile and eyes,
And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days
And the whole world hated
To love you more.
Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?
Perhaps I am thinking heavenly
And I am convinced by the strength of spirit,
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?
Why did you promise so tenderly?
You replace his crown,
Why weren't you there at first?
What I finally became!
I'm proud! - sorry! love another
Dream of finding love in another;
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.
To foreign mountains, under the southern sky
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.
From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;
I will begin to deceive shamelessly,
So as not to love as I loved, -
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?
I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
So that your young hand -
Madman! - shake again!
Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew - I didn’t know you!

Analysis of Lermontov’s poem “K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...)”

In the summer of 1830, 16-year-old Mikhail Lermontov, while relaxing on a country estate, met Natalya Ivanova, the daughter of a famous Russian writer at that time. The girl captivates him not only with her beauty, but also reciprocates the young poet’s feelings. After an unsuccessful romance with Ekaterina Sushkova, who mercilessly ridiculed her young admirer, Lermontov again feels the taste of life. He is fascinated by his beloved and devotes his first timid poems to her, in which he hints at his feelings. Now it is difficult to establish for certain whether the young people had a love affair and whether they swore an oath of allegiance to each other, but Lermontov returned to Moscow inspired and completely cured of despondency.

It is known that the poet and his chosen one met several times at balls during 1830, which became the reason for Lermontov’s deep disappointment. He became convinced that he was just a passing hobby for Natalya Ivanova, and at parties she preferred to spend time in the company of more successful gentlemen, with whom she openly flirted. However, the final break between the lovers occurred in the summer of 1831. It is no longer possible to establish for certain what exactly happened between Lermontov and Ivanova. However, after returning to Moscow, the 17-year-old poet unexpectedly writes a play called “Strange People”, the prototype of the main character in which is his chosen one. According to the plot, a girl who has sworn an oath of fidelity to her beloved subsequently takes back her words and gives preference to another. It is likely that the same thing happened in real life, and Natalya Ivanova simply became interested in another young man.

One way or another, in the winter of 1832, 5 months after the fateful events, Mikhail Lermontov creates the poem “K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...),” a handwritten version of which he sends to the one he loved. In this work, the author seems to draw a line under this short novel, emphasizing: “we are strangers from now on.” Explaining his decision to finally break off relations with his beloved, the poet notes that he made too much of a sacrifice in the name of high feelings for someone who does not deserve it. “And the whole world hated you so that it could love you more,” the poet notes. At the same time, Lermontov considers the year and a half that this novel lasted to be irretrievably lost for poetry, since he indulged in pipe dreams instead of honing his literary style.

The poet considers himself deceived and insulted. But he blames this not only on his beloved, who was not at all what she wanted to appear to be. First of all, the author calls himself a “madman,” because he was led by his own feelings, which overshadowed the voice of reason. However, insight came quickly enough, and Lermontov wishes only one thing for his chosen one - “dream of finding love in another.”

As in the play, the poet directly indicates that the reason for the break in relations was that Natalya Ivanova preferred another young man to him. And this discouraged Lermontov so much that he finally became disillusioned with the fairer sex, asking: “Is it possible to respect women when an angel cheated on me?” However, from now on, the poet no longer intends to indulge himself in illusions and remain in delusions, believing that it is better to put an end to this love story than to sacrifice freedom for the sake of the illusion of happiness.

No one in the poet’s circle knew about the romance between Lermontov and Ivanova, so for a long time the poems marked with the initials of Natalya Ivanova, which in a year and a half totaled more than 30 pieces, remained the poet’s posthumous secret. Only in the middle of the last century did the literary critic Irakli Andronnikov manage to decipher the name of the mysterious stranger with whom Lermontov was in love, who shed light on the tragic love story of the young poet.