Subject
Meshaev the Second
From
Date
Body
Мешаев Второй. Становится поздно! Пора на боковую. (Meshaev the Second. "It's getting late. Time to go to bed." "The Event," Act Three. Characters in bold type form the name Nabokov.)
Antonina Pavlovna's last guest, Meshaev the Second is a namesake of Mikhey Mikheevich Krutitski ("the Covetous Knight of Moscow suburbs"), the main character in Ostrovsky's play "Не было ни гроша, да вдруг алтын" ("The Easy Money," 1872):
Антонина Павловна. Люба, там ветчина осталась. Ах, ты уже принесла. Отлично. Пожалуйста. Вас ведь Михеем Михеевичем?
Мешаев Второй. Мерси, мерси. Да, Михеем.
(Antonina Pavlovna offers Meshaev the Second some ham and asks if his name and patronymic is Mikhey Mikheevich. He answers "yes" and thanks her for the snack: merci*)
Ostrovsky's play has a happy ending:
Н а с т я. Как страшна мне казалась жизнь вчера вечером, и как радостна мне она теперь!
А н н а. А вот, душа моя, несчастные люди, чтоб не гневить бога, чтоб не совсем отчаиваться, утешают себя пословицею, что "утро вечера мудренее", - которая иногда и сбывается. (Life seemed terrible last night but is now a joy. As wise people say, "better sleep on it!")
"The Event" ends in Meshaev the Second, who toyed with chiromancy, reading Lyubov's palm and then taking Barboshin's hand.
A character in Ostrovsky's play "На всякого мудреца довольно простоты" ("Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man," 1868) is the fortune-teller Manefa.
Ostrovsky's comedy "Не так живи, как хочется" ("Live Not as You Would Like to," 1854) was adapted as the tragic opera "Вражья сила" ("The Power of the Devil," 1871) by Serov.
*in Dostoevski's "The Possessed" Merci is Karmazinov's stroy that he reads at the Literary Festival. Note that Meshaev the First gives Antonina Pavlovna roses (Act Two) and quotes Turgenev (the target of Dostoevski's attack): "Как хороши, как свежи были розы!" ("How beautiful, how fresh were the roses!" - initially, the line in a poem by Myatlev)
Alexey Sklyarenko
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Antonina Pavlovna's last guest, Meshaev the Second is a namesake of Mikhey Mikheevich Krutitski ("the Covetous Knight of Moscow suburbs"), the main character in Ostrovsky's play "Не было ни гроша, да вдруг алтын" ("The Easy Money," 1872):
Антонина Павловна. Люба, там ветчина осталась. Ах, ты уже принесла. Отлично. Пожалуйста. Вас ведь Михеем Михеевичем?
Мешаев Второй. Мерси, мерси. Да, Михеем.
(Antonina Pavlovna offers Meshaev the Second some ham and asks if his name and patronymic is Mikhey Mikheevich. He answers "yes" and thanks her for the snack: merci*)
Ostrovsky's play has a happy ending:
Н а с т я. Как страшна мне казалась жизнь вчера вечером, и как радостна мне она теперь!
А н н а. А вот, душа моя, несчастные люди, чтоб не гневить бога, чтоб не совсем отчаиваться, утешают себя пословицею, что "утро вечера мудренее", - которая иногда и сбывается. (Life seemed terrible last night but is now a joy. As wise people say, "better sleep on it!")
"The Event" ends in Meshaev the Second, who toyed with chiromancy, reading Lyubov's palm and then taking Barboshin's hand.
A character in Ostrovsky's play "На всякого мудреца довольно простоты" ("Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man," 1868) is the fortune-teller Manefa.
Ostrovsky's comedy "Не так живи, как хочется" ("Live Not as You Would Like to," 1854) was adapted as the tragic opera "Вражья сила" ("The Power of the Devil," 1871) by Serov.
*in Dostoevski's "The Possessed" Merci is Karmazinov's stroy that he reads at the Literary Festival. Note that Meshaev the First gives Antonina Pavlovna roses (Act Two) and quotes Turgenev (the target of Dostoevski's attack): "Как хороши, как свежи были розы!" ("How beautiful, how fresh were the roses!" - initially, the line in a poem by Myatlev)
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/