Yakov Pasinkov by Ivan Turgenev. Short summary

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The author recalls his friend, the romantic Yakov Pasynkov. He loved Sofia Zlotnitskaya unrequitedly. But Yakov died early, and it turned out that he was loved by 2 girls — Masha and Sonya’s sister Varya.

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The author indulges in memories of his youthful friendship with Yakov Pasynkov. He was a romantic young man, kind and affable.

Yakov was friends with rich and noble guys, but they respected him for his sincerity and kindness. They all knew the Zlotnicki family. There were two young sisters — Varvara and Sophia, the younger one. The latter was looked after by all the young men, including the author.

One of the author’s buddies, Asanov, said that Sophia loved him. He almost had a fight with the author, but they were reconciled by Yakov. Sofya married Asanov.

Years went by, the friends met. Yakov was already at death’s door. He was serving in Siberia as an official, and was wounded by an arrow from a Buryat smuggler. Then Yakov caught a cold and became terminally ill. He told the author how unrequitedly he loved Sophia.

Yakov died. The author met Sofya, whose husband had drunk and she was babysitting her daughter. He rebuked her for not loving Yakov. Sophia replied that Varvara was in love with Yakov, and she had not even married.

Yakov was loved by the peasant Masha, who asked the author to employ her.