Daria Tyutcheva, the poet’s daughter from his first marriage, was a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court and publisher of her father’s works. She spent her childhood in Munich, where Tyutchev served in a diplomatic mission for almost fifteen years. After returning from Germany, she studied at the Smolny Institute, and then lived in her father’s new family. The poet’s letters to her, ‘so loving and so lonely’, often resembled a confession. It was to Daria that he wrote ‘with tears, not ink’ when he was overcome by gloomy thoughts. In total, 51 letters from Tyutchev to his daughter have survived, he wrote them in the period from 1857 to 1873.

Daria also trusted her father and appreciated him highly. In a letter to one of the sisters, she said, ‘Papa had to translate the manifesto on the emancipation of the peasants. I have read it, it is great.’

Daria Tyutcheva spoke several foreign languages ​​and was known for her erudition and the wide range of cultural interests. Count Sergei Sheremetev wrote about her, ‘She was an independent character and lived apart, intelligent, lively, observant and ardent…’ She collected and rewrote her father’s works and participated in their publication together with her brother Ivan Tyutchev. Daria was also engaged in charitable, educational and literary activities. She is the addressee of her father’s poems: ‘Not always does the soul have sickly dreams…’ and ‘When God has deferred assent…’:

Recalling the walks with her father near Ovstug, Daria wrote, ‘These groves, this garden, these alleys were a whole world for papa — and a complete world; here the mind was awakened, and the child’s imagination looked for its ideal in this reality.’ In his letter to Daria Tyutchev admitted, “As for your letters, I love them regardless of size and form. I love them because they are like you: no matter how much deep sadness is hidden in their souls, as you say, they still have a smile on their lips.”

Daria Tyutcheva died in 1903, she was never married. She was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery, but her grave has not been preserved.