He also enjoyed a close friendship with philosopher Mikhail Bakunin, and the two students roomed together until Turgenev returned to Russia in 1841, leaving his dissertation uncompleted. Abandoning his plans to become a professor, he found a post in Russia's Ministry of Interior Affairs. Unenthusiastic about this vocation as well, Turgenev quit his civil service job after eighteen months by citing health concerns, angering his widowed mother, who promptly withdrew her financial support. His impoverished status, as well as some youthful indiscretions--Turgenev fathered a daughter with his mother's seamstress--made this a difficult time for a young man used to leading a comfortable life.
Now able to devote more time to his writing, Turgenev began to develop the subtle realist style that characterizes his mature work; he also began his habit of encouraging literate friends to read his work in draft form to gauge critical reaction. He produced both poetry and plays, his 1843 verse collection Parasha reflecting the influence of Russian poets Aleksandr Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov. Although the work shows Turgenev's potential as a poet, he would later dismiss such efforts after discovering his true calling in prose. The same year Parasha was published, Turgenev met Pauline Viardot-Garcia, a Spanish-born vocalist who would eventually become the reigning mezzo-soprano in Europe.
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