The Song of Triumphant Love by Ivan Turgenev. Short summary

5 seconds

Mucius, who had returned from Asia, enchanted Valeria, the wife of his friend Fabius, with a sorcerer’s song. In her dreams she went to him in her arms. Her husband killed Mucius. Valeria realized, however, that she was pregnant.

1 minute

The action takes place in Ferrara in the 16th century. Two friends, Fabius and Mucius, have fallen in love with the girl Valeria. They agreed that she would choose and the rejected one would leave town. Valeria chose Fabius.

Four years passed. The couple lived happily, but had no children. Mucius returned to the city. Fabius invited him to stay with him.

Mucius brought back from his travels a servant with his tongue cut out and many jewels. He gave Valeria a necklace that seemed to stick to her.

In the evening he treated the couple to wine and whispered something over Valerie’s glass, and then played the Ceylon «song of happy love.» Valeria dreamed that she was in a hall with pillars and Mucius was kissing her. Mucius told her that he dreamed of a hall of columns and that he was kissing a woman he had once loved.

At night, Fabius saw his wife moving like a sleepwalker from the room. He locked the door in front of her, ran and killed Mucius. In the morning he received a note that Mucius was sick and was leaving. Fabius saw the servant revive the corpse.

The couple began to live as before. But Valeria became pregnant.