Fathers and Sons

Hello, friends!

When last I wrote, I was writing from the estate of Nikolai Gogol, poet, and author of The Nose and Dead Souls.  He and I had many wonderful, albeit odd, conversations regarding his works.  It would seem, however, that the death of Pushkin still weighs heavily on my friend, for his spirit has sunk even lower than it usually sits.  He has taken up the counsel of a holy fool, except to me his teachings seem a bit extreme.  Gogol has even begun to question his work, and has even begun to deprive himself of worldly pleasures.  There's nothing wrong with the occasional drink in my book, so I thought it wise for me to make myself welcome elsewhere.

Ivan Turgenev, and yes,
he always looks this stern.

During my travels, I had the good fortune to stumble upon a recently published novel by Ivan Turgenev.  I had not been much acquainted with Turgenev's work before this point, but the book came highly recommended in the thick books I had read while staying with Gogol.  This particular novel, entitled Fathers and Sons, has been an interesting contrast for me, coming directly from Gogol's newfound ascetic belief system to this treatise on belief in general.

What's more, as I was finishing the book on the train, two men took the seats across from me and began to comment on novel.  They had such interesting views, I thought to sit and just absorb their discussion, though they soon pulled me in to settle disputes between them.  In return for their thoughts, I agreed to buy drinks, and what followed was a lively discussion.

An Original Copy of Fathers and Sons

The first, Viktor, talked much about how he thought the main point of the novel was "The conflict between the generations," (Lowe, 1982) detailing how the main plot of the book followed Arkady Kirsanov and his friend, Yevgeny Bazarov as they come home from Univeristy, and the challenges that arise between them and Arkady's father, Nikolai Kirsanov and his traditional values.  Viktor pointed out that there seems to be some pairing that occurs at the start of the novel, with those of each generation and social level being introduced together at the start of the novel to frame the conflict, (Lowe, 1982).  The image then came to me of two armies, one old, one young approaching each other across a battlefield of concept.

However, at that point, Aleksei pointed out that the pairings seemed shallow to him.  Those pairings, based on ideals, don't really create the conflict.  Rather, Aleksei said, "The conflicts in the novel are the result of differences or similarities in temperament" (Lowe, 1982).   To illustrate this, he outlined the characteristics of Pavel, Aleksei's uncle, and Bazarov as men who are expressionless amongst their elders, except in bursts of radical thinking.  He even suggested that their characters follow similar arcs throughout the novel.  Both Pavel and Bazarov were radicals of their respective generations, Bazarov as a Nihilist and Pavel as a Liberal.

A fictional portrait of Bazarov

The conversation at this point took an unexpected turn as Viktor began to back down from his original arguments, but then came forward with altogether new ideas, exploring the concepts of regeneration and degeneration as displayed by the cast of Turgenev's book.  For train of thought, he compared Nikolai Kirsanov with Bazarov.  Of Nikolai, he said, "Nikolai's capacity for memory enables him to sense life's continuities. . .Because of his memory, Nikolai understands the emotions and attitudes not only of his own generation, but of his son's" (Atteberry, 1988).  On the other hand, of Bazarov, he said, "[His] dispair stems, in part, from an absence of memory," referring to Bazarov's hopeless goodbye to Odintsov, his brief love.  I had not even considered such a comparison prior to this conversation, though it did strike a thought that had been with me since I had finished the book.

Having only recently left the home of Gogol, I could not help but feel the opposition between his current way of thinking and that of Bazarov.  Turgenev referred to Bazarov as a Nihilist, a term I had not heard before.  However, I think that almost everyone has met one.  They are, as one of my train-mates put it, "...Neither familiar with, nor interested in learning the 'old' abstract and philosophical chitchat. . . Who Believes in utility, science, and the ability to impose arithmetical calculation on all social problems," (Dubnov, 2015).  In short, they do not believe in anything they cannot examine or control with their senses.  This firm disbelief is so different from the repentant soul of someone like Gogol.  At first it may seem admirable, but for Bazarov, it became his doom.  I begin to admire these Nihilists for all they could accomplish, and yet worry at what price they may have to pay.



Sources:
Atteberry, Phillip D. “Regenerative and Degenerative Forces in Turgenev's ‘Fathers and Sons.’” South Central Review, vol. 5, no. 1, 1988, pp. 48–60., www.jstor.org/stable/3189433.

Dubnov, Arie M. "‘Those New Men of the Sixties’: Nihilism in the Liberal Imagination." ["Rethinking History"]. Rethinking History, vol. 19, no. 1, Mar. 2015, pp. 18-40. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=99979692&site=eds-live.

Lowe, David A. "Doubling in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons." Essays in Literature, vol. 9, no. 2, Fall  1982, pp. 240-250. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prf&AN=24389297&site=eds-live.

The Nose Knows

Hello, Friends!

It has not been long since the death of my dear friend, Pushkin.  It has been hard on us all.  Indeed, Russia lost her premier poet.  The loss of him still echoes down the streets and through the minds and hearts of the people who so loved him.  In the pubs which I have frequented, hardly a night goes by without at least half a dozen toasts being raised in his name.

A Portrait of Gogol

Since his death, I have once again become acquainted with the group of story tellers with whom he associated.  One in particular of his colleagues has a style of story that seems to me most appropriate in these dark and upsetting times.  Nikolai Gogol has knack for the disturbing and fantastical that suits my dark mood as of late.  Furthermore, it was my pleasure to have stayed with him on his estate to proofread some of his upcoming work and to learn more about the man himself.

To say that Gogol is a strange fellow would not be off course, though I do feel that it fails to encapsulate the experience of interacting with him.  In speaking with him, I was able to learn some of his incidental history.  He was born in Ukraine under the name Nikolai Ianovskii in 1810, and later transplanted himself into St. Petersburg, bypassing Moscow so as not to ruin the experience ( Davydov, 2006).  Furthermore, he said to me that he found Petersburg to be underwhelming upon his arrival, though I can't imagine to what he was comparing it.  He simply said he thought it would be less dark and gloomy.

Kovalev, face to face with his Nose

Despite the lack of festive spirit, Gogol has managed to find in the daily grindings of the common people a character to use in his tales.  Seemingly based on his own experience, he has fashioned a character so thoroughly unremarkable that he might easily be anyone's uncle or father.  A simple clerk, to whom any could relate or pity (Davydov, 2006).  However, it is the situations that these little men find themselves in that makes his tales remarkable.  His tales have included a man who collects the rights to the names of dead serfs, a man so obsessed with his new coat and being respected that he ends up haunting the streets of St. Petersburg stealing coats after death, and even a man who must compete with his own nose.

The final tale being my favorite, I feel I must give it a special treatise.  In the beginning, Kovalev wakes at the changing of the calendar (Seifrid, 1993) to find that his nose has departed from his face and become its own being.  He then embarks on a great search for the missing feature, enlisting the help of the police and other city offices in his endeavor.  It is later found that the nose had left, probably due to the regularly occurring trips Kovalev had been taking to the barber, at which points his nose was subjected to foul smelling ointments the barber used on Kovalev's face.  After a few weeks, the nose appears back on his face without explanation.

What is fascinating about the tale, besides the adventure and strangeness of it all, is how the story has been left open for interpretation.  Rarely have any of my stories been so odd and yet subtle with their message so as to leave room for so many directions of thought.  One man I talked to insisted that the lack of focus on smells in this story about a nose was as significant as representing the influence of the west, stating that, "Seen in this context, 'The Nose' actualizes strinkingly well the locus of Gogol's reaction to the relationships that were beginning to materialize at the time among the Imperial government, medical science, hygiene, and olfaction." (Klymentiev, 2009)  With the destruction of smells symbolizing the increase of western influence, the book does take on a certain slavophile tone.

Meanwhile, another friend I met at a pub thought of the book entirely differently.  He told me over drinks that he thought the major message was one of mistaken identity, or rather, missing identity (Seifrid, 1993).  He examined the nose not knowing its place, as well as many people changing their title by switching between the military and civilian tiers of ranking.  He continued to talk at length about how the book seemed to purposefully remove truth from symbol.  Most people seem to think that Gogol was making some kind of statement about the European influence on this country.  However, I can't help but wonder if Gogol was really purposefully considering all of this, or if he simply wanted to write a story about how insecure he felt about his nose.

Davydov, Sergei. "Gogol's Petersburg." New England Review (10531297), vol. 27, no. 1, Winter2006, pp. 122-127. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=19983812&site=eds-live.

Klymentiev, Maksym. "The Dark Side of 'The Nose': The Paradigms of Olfactory Perception in Gogol''s 'The Nose'." Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne Des Slavistes, no. 2/3, 2009, p. 223. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.40871408&site=eds-live.

Seifrid, Thomas. "Suspicion toward Narrative: The Nose and the Problem of Autonomy in Gogol's 'Nos'." The Russian Review, no. 3, 1993, p. 382. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.10.2307.130737&site=eds-live.

The Death of Pushkin

My Friends!

I regret to inform you that a great tragedy has taken place.  Since I last wrote, I have found myself again in St. Petersburg, and have fallen in with a group of fellow story tellers who have captured ideas from the west.  This group of brilliant Russians are some of the greatest writers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting for drinks.  But, horror of horrors, the greatest of these my new friends has been wounded in a duel.  My friend, Aleksandr Pushkin, teeters now on the precipice between this mortal life and the grave.  He is in God's hands now, and we can only drink and pray in hopes that he may somehow recover.  I will admit, I do not think I have the faith to believe he will recover.
Perhaps it will clear my head to detail some of the strange events leading up to the duel itself, as the tale is a strange one.

A portrait of Natalia from this period,
though it hardly does her justice.

To understand this duel, one must understand a bit of the history of Pushkin himself.  The first part being that he was a troubled soul.  Pushkin had fallen into the tragedy many feel in youth.  He had married a beautiful woman.  Indeed, Natalia Nikolaevna is the most beautiful woman I have ever met.  While this seems like a blessing to the young, we who have been around may know better.  It is commonly rumored that Natalia had sought attentions outside her marriage with men of the court, most notably with one Georges d'Antes and potentially even the Tsar, Nicholas I (Yefimov, 1999; Strakhosvsky, 1956).  I unfortunately do not have the blessing of being invited to these court events as a simple story teller, and cannot verify the truth of the rumors myself.  However, the strength of a rumor lies not in its truth, but rather in its persistence.

This particular rumor was highly pervasive, and the content of it would have made any husband melancholy.  Pushkin was no exception.  Over the years, he had taken several actions, some more brash than others, to defend the honor of his wife and himself, including many letters of a scathing nature sent to d'Antes and his father and a dueling challenge later retracted (Yefimov, 1999).  Certainly, this shows the courage, patience, and reason possessed by Pushkin, but those admirable qualities could never hope to sustain him forever.

Pushkin, after his duel.

It seems, the final nail in the coffin was a diploma, as cryptic as it was inflammatory, which was given to Pushkin in the November before his fateful duel (Yefimov, 1999).  This document seems meant to ridicule and mock Pushkin, and to question the validity of his accomplishments.  In response, he reissued his challenge to d'Antes.

Dueling has become popular here in Russia only recently, and has spread through the military and the nobility rather swiftly, though the practice is done with some pseudo secrecy, as the Tsar has stated that it is not to be permitted (Reyfman, 1995).  Indeed, I have known several officers who have been demoted for agreeing to participate in such duels.  However, to the young men of today, their honor is more important than the law.

A typical duel involves two men,
who face each other and exchange fire.

As it is, Pushkin himself carried through with the deed only yesterday.  During the exchange, Pushkin shot first, and missed.  d'Antes, however, had a truer aim, catching Pushkin in the hip.  Pushkin, horribly wounded, was brought back to his home, where I and a few of his other friends came as quick as we could to comfort our friend in his final hours and say our farewells.


When I had arrived at Pushkin's home, I was shocked to find the Tsar's own doctor there already!  He had apparently for immediately (Strakhovsky, 1956).  I had not been aware that Pushkin had been quite this close to the Tsar, but I suppose I should have accounted better for the interaction he has had while accompanying his wife.  Zhukovsky, who is in charge of managing Pushkin's documents should he die, has even hinted that the Tsar has promised to care for Pushkin's family after the event itself (Strakhovsky, 1956).

I am grateful that someone is taking care for the family of the great man.  Surely, Russia will be poorer without him.  It is a cruel irony that the honor and courage that so inspired Pushkin's work has now cost him the life by which he may have done so much more.  I shall miss him dearly.

Sources:
Reyfman, Irina. "The Emergence of the Duel in Russia: Corporal Punishment and the Honor Code." The Russian Review, no. 1, 1995, p. 26. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.10.2307.130773&site=eds-live.

STRAKHOVSKY, LEONID I. “Pushkin and the Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.” Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne Des Slavistes, vol. 1, 1956, pp. 16–30., www.jstor.org/stable/40866041.

Yefimov, Igor. "A Duel with the Tsar." Russian Review, vol. 58, no. 4, Oct. 1999, p. 574. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2846755&site=eds-live.

The Theater of the People

My Friends!
Much has changed in here since last I wrote.  It has been my pleasure to roam this great nation and partake of its many pleasures.  However, one pleasure in particular has struck my interest.  As a storyteller, I am always intrigued by the work of others to share history and fantasy in new and exciting ways. However, to understand the trend which I am about to describe to you, there is something dark that must be understood. That being the topic of Serfdom.

A Family of Serfs

Years ago, in an effort to stabilize the country during an hour of great need, it was decided that the peasants should not be allowed to leave the land which they work.  To enforce this decree, the land was given to the local nobility.  This would not seem terribly unusual, but for the fact that the peasants were given along with it as part of the deal.  These days, the common people are bought, sold, leased, and traded by the nobility as one might a cow (Malnick, 1952).
While this situation is not ideal, many nobles are taking advantage of their vast resources to create theatre troupes, employing those whom they have ownership in writing plays, building sets, and performing for rather large audiences (Malnick, 1952).  This is an opportunity that would never be had by most now engaged in the practice were they to be left on their own.  It would be challenging to imagine enough peasants with the capital to buy the materials for the costumes, much less build a set or take time away from farm and house to write plays.

The Mariinsky Theatre

This is  not the case with the Lords of the court.  They spend more on these productions than most will see in their entire lives.  A man at arms in the household of Count Sheremetev told me privately that "[The Count] spent a fortune on his theatres," while Count Kamensky lost all he had (Malnick, 1952).  These are impressive productions, far more elaborate than my simple storytelling.
I, myself have been asked to write a play or two, but that is not where my talent lies.  It has been fascinating to watch the rise of plays written by those native to this land.  In court, it is commonly said that no Russia had no history of plays before 1800, as nothing before then was any good (Schuler, 2009).  These people have stopped merely using the works of others, and have begun to create something fascinating all their own.
These theatres have popped up almost overnight.  They vary in size from tiny troupes of a dozen or so to magnificent productions involving thousands of souls.  Either way, if you find yourself in this country, you simply must attend the theater.  You simply will not be disappointed.

Malnick, Bertha. “Russian Serf Theatres.” The Slavonic and East European Review, vol. 30, no. 75, 1952, pp. 393–411., www.jstor.org/stable/4204342.

Schuler, Catherine. Theatre and identity in imperial Russia. University of Iowa Press, 2009.

A Grand Coronation

My Friends, it has been my great pleasure to experience a magnificent event.  Though the past few weeks have been filled with intrigue, all has been made up in the Catherine's fantastic coronation.  I shall have tales to spread of the event for years to come.  You must forgive me if the events are not quite the clearest in my mind.  The Russian's surely know how to celebrate, and it has been my privilege to trade  a tale or two for a drink more than once during the festivities.  I get ahead of myself.  Allow me to set the stage.
In order to comprehend the importance of the events I will describe, we must first take a brief moment in the past.  According to a woman named Suzanne Massey, Tsarina Elizabeth, may God rest her soul, had bestowed the right to rule upon her nephew, Peter.  It became obvious rather quickly that Peter was not very good at his job.  He married Princess Sophia of Germany, who in a rather clever move, was baptized into the Russian Orthodox church and rechristened Catherine (128-130).
The people loved their new princess.  It has often been spoken in pubs and at churches that Catherine may be more Russian than Peter himself.
After many long and unhappy years, Elizabeth died, passing the crown to Peter.  However, Peter was not to have it long.  Just a few short months after achieving the throne, the palace guards, with Catherine's own lover leading the charge, put Catherine in the role of ruler of all Russia (Massey 130).
This brings us to the coronation.  Oh, what a coronation!  Tales will never do it justice, but though the years may try to dim the memory, it will certainly live on in the hearts of this people through the ages.  The first thing of note was the bells.  Bells are certainly common in Moscow, but a bell unlike any other rang out that day.  Deep and low, this bell was.  One said it was "like the Fullest and lowest tones of a vast organ, or the rolling of distant thunder" (Dixon 4).  This was a summons felt to the very soul of everyone in the city.  It compelled the foundation of every man to heed its call, and come we did.  The crowd gathered seemed to contain every man woman and child in Moscow.  Scarcely could one move through the crowds, and I found myself lucky to gain a vantage where I could see the procession.

Catherine, Dressed for her Coronation

It was a grand sight to behold.  Catherine embodied grandeur as she crossed the square from the church to the palace within the Kremlin.  Her robe, a gorgeous silver, was stunning.  Surely, a finer garment never graced the throne in Moscow.  However, the dress itself paled in comparison with the crown upon her head.  Even from my distant vantage, the crown sparkled like the night sky condensed and laid upon her brow.  Indeed, the entire treasury must have been then located upon her head (Massey 132).  There she stood, a gilded angel before five full regiments of palace guard arrayed in their finest (Dixon, 5).  A fitting audience, given they were the ones who had run the coup that put her in power.
However, the most meaningful part of the celebration to the Russian people is the food and drink!  The feasting lasted a whole week, with almost never a break.  I myself have forgotten most of what I ate, but the stories and songs were shared by all.  These Russians, a people who excel at leisure, never fail to impress with their feasting.  It was as if they expected to never eat or drink again after.  An event to be remembered, for sure.

Refferences
Massie, Suzanne.  Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia.  HeartTree Press, 1980.
Dixon, Simon.  Catherine the Great.  Profile Books LTD, 2010.

A City of Ghosts and Stone

My friends, Russia itself is changing swiftly.  I am worried an old man as myself cannot keep up as the hand of God moves time onward. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting the tsar, Peter, during part of his tour of Europe.  However, the wonders he has created are such that I could not possibly rest until I had seen them for myself.  

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting the tsar, Peter, during part of his tour of Europe.  Truly, the stories about the life of this man, and his many accomplishments, will pass into legend as surely as those of Heraclese and Achilles.  A giant of a man, Peter commands respect everywhere he goes, and he never fails to meet the expectations he creates.  The man himself is a genious.  From sailing and farming to war, the tsar has made himself an authority on everything he can get his hands upon.  This is an amazing time of prosperity.  However, there is one accomplishment of his that I believe will survive long past the others.  The new jewel of Russia, St. Petersburg.

Peter, in a show of iron will, has raised a great city from the marshes near the Neva river.  Notably, a city of stone, built to survive the elements and stand as a testament to the accomplishments of this great people.  Peter has since moved his entire court to the city, seeking to strengthen the cultural ties to the other European countries.  It seems, Peter hopes to establish this nation as the greatest in the civilized world.  

The problem lies in the hearts of the people.  It seems they do not care for this city Peter has forced them to build out of harsh rock in this forsaken part of the land.  They whisper things about it, calling it bad luck or even as much as cursed.  Part of that resentment probably comes as a remembrance of those died during its construction.  The swamp, and the disease that came with it, cost the lives of thousands during the building of the city.  It may well be said that the foundation of this city was laid with Russian bones.  

The city itself lends to this bleak picture, with its dark shadows.  

Through the Eyes of Another

My Friends!

When last I wrote to you, times were dark under the rule of the Mongol hordes.  However, we have pulled through, and peace and prosperity abound once again.  It all, happened so long ago, now, that I will spare you the details.  Suffice it to say that all is joyous again in Muscovy.  Ivan is now tsar, and he rules from the Kremlin in Moscow.  He can be a terror to the nobles in court, but as of yet, the people are simply glad to be a free people once more.

Chancellor, on his arrival in Moscow

By chance, I ran into a fellow foreigner recently who had himself stumbled into Russia quite by accident.  His name was Richard Chancellor, and he told me of his remarkable journey into the heart of Russia.  He had initially left on a voyage to China, but made landfall in Russia in 1553 at a monastery by the sea (Berry and Crummey, 2012).  From there, he has traveled all around this beautiful country, and seems to have developed something of a love for it.  He leaves soon, but has decided he must return soon.  I was surprised to see his son with him on this journey

Among the many experiences he recounted was his trip to Moscow and his audience with Ivan the Tsar.  It seems he was surprised, if not particularly impressed with Moscow itself, claiming that it was "as in bigness. . . as great as the city of London", if a bit haphazard (Berry and Crummey, 2012).  I have not as yet been to London, and could therefore not say how it compares.

Berry, Lloyd E., and Robert O. Crummey, eds. Rude and Barbarous Kingdom: Russia in the Accounts of Sixteenth-Century English Voyagers. University of Wisconsin Pres, 2012.

Morfill, William Richard. The Story of Russia. New York, GP Putnams Sons; London T. Fisher Unwin, 1890.
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