Neohawk's Full Review: Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin and T. Keane - The Qu...
Every Reader with a Classical taste must consider picking up this book at some point. Most of the stories are short, and in them Pushkin opens the door to Aristocratic Russia's past, detailing the lifestyles and questions of the age.
Since the Earliest days of Russian History, the peoples of the largest nation on earth have been in a constant battle of social and cultural identity. The nation-state of Russia lies on two continents – something which no other nation on the planet may lay claim to. Thus, the Russian mentality has always been torn between the two. Are the Russian people Europeans or a Slavic people of unique Asian identity? Long ago the ideological aspirations as to the direction that Russian culture should take was split between the Slavophiles, who sought a preservation of Slavic traditions, and Westernizers, who crusaded a conversion to a more western way of life. The search for identity has raged for ages, and is brought about through many historical, geographical, environmental, and political reasons. Pushkin's search for identity for all Russian people can be seen in the works of this collection.
One of the main causes for the cultural rift between East and West is the heavy influence that the European Nations, especially France, had on the society the noble class. This noble class in Feudal Russia (mainly the pre-communist era) controlled the Empire in a Monarchical Autocracy of wealthy Landowners. The noble classes in pre-communist Russia were the elite, and commonly the only members of the Empire that were literate.
This being true, Russian Literature was written exclusively by the higher, more educated nobility. It is in these early works that one can see an impact of French culture on these nobles. French society and culture was looked upon my Russian nobility as being civilized and proper, so the study and practice of it was widespread and acceptable. This admiration of European culture, especially French, was at its peak during the 1800s. The majority of Russian nobles learned the French language, and oft times spoke it in place of their own Russian Language. Often times in their prose one can find the clues to Russian noble adaptation of French society as mirrored by the upper class characters in the stories they wrote.
Alexander Pushkin is a prime example of French culture on Russian Literature. In his time, Pushkin was a Noble of the highest prestige. Pushkin was a revolutionary, very critical of the Monarchical authorities, and also, as it can be seen in his works, was a Westernizer. As a western sympathizer and a Russian Nobleman, Pushkin’s works overflow with things western, particularly French. My favorite of Pushkin's works, Queen of Spades, is present in this collection.
Queen of Spades is a tale of a Russian Nobleman of German origin, Hermann, who learns from another Russian nobleman, Tomsky, that an old woman, the Countess, knows the secret to winning huge sums of money (in Russia known as Rubles). It is already evident that Pushkin had some kind of Opinion of western societies in his lead character’s ethnicity. Perhaps, however, the opinion that Pushkin holds of the German peoples may not be a favorable one, as Hermann is villainous in this short story. As it is the case in much of Russian Romanticism, Hermann is a superfluous man. But Hermann seems more than only superfluous, he seem to teem with a certain arrogance and ego. Perhaps it is in these traits that he is led to hold the countess at gunpoint in search of the secret gambling trick. Perhaps Pushkin believed German people, in essence and in stereotype, to naturally have these traits and qualities.
Pushkin divides this story into 6 parts, or chapters, and each begins with a poem or dialogue, and all of them seem to bring an important effect to the story. Three of these “prefaces” are written in French. However, none of them, including the French ones, are of any significance. Pushkin seems to be ridiculing the elite class, suggesting perhaps that their conversation with one another are as pointless as his adding these mini-prefaces to each chapter. It is especially true for the French prefaces, as if one translates them they can discover that the topic of discussion among the people present in the dialogue is extremely mundane and critical of Nobility.
Pushkin’s characters within the story also infrequently speak to each other in French. This dialogue is also mundane; and much of the French spoken is mixed in the same sentence as the native Russian language . For example, at one point early on in the story, a young officer says to the countess: “Hello, grandmaman,” said a young officer who entered the room. “Bonjour, mademoiselle Lise. Grand’ maman, I have a quest of you.”
Notice that the character says “hello” to the countess, but says “Bonjour” to Lizaveta. This was likely no mistake on Pushkin’s part. A mix of language such as this may have dominant clues about how the character views the two he has just greeted. It is likely that the Character, a young officer, may find Lizaveta appealing to him, because he chooses to greet her with the French “Bonjour” as if to be pleased by her presence.
From the earliest works of Russian Literature to the present, European influences are present and clearly identifiable. The battle for cultural identity raged on in the secular world, and later this battle had an impact on other great authors such as Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Today, the Russian mentality is more pro-Slavic. Perhaps one cause for this lean towards the Slavic tradition is a present and growing distrust of the West. Even thought the common Russian may not believe himself or herself to be European, the impact European culture, including and especially France, has had on the Russian culture is undeniable.
Some say, arguably, that the French Revolution was one of the matches that ignited the flame of the Russian heart that lead to their own revolution. Perhaps this is what made Pushkin a rebel – wanting to have freedom for his people as the French had strove to achieve for their nation.
Celebrated title story plus "The Shot," "The Snowstorm," "The Coffin-Maker," "An Amateur Peasant Girl," and "The Postmaster" -- all fascinating portra...More at Alibris
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