The details of the L disaster (and I do not mean Elevated) in the beau milieu of last century, which had the singular effect of both causing and cursing the notion of ¡®Terra,¡¯ are too well-known historically, and too obscene spiritually, to be treated at length in a book addressed to young laymen and lemans ¡ª and not to grave men or gravemen. (1.3)
In her memoir essay on Voloshin, Zhivoe o zhivom ("A Living Word about a Living Man," 1932), Marina Tsvetaev uses the phrase au beau milieu (right in the middle) as applied to Victor Hugo's poem Napol¨¦on II (1832):
§ª §Ó§ß§Ö§Ù§Ñ§á§ß§à ¨C au beau milieu Victor Hugo §¯§Ñ§á§à§Ý§Ö§à§ß§å II ¨C §å§Ø§Ö §ß§Ö §Ó§Ü§â§Ñ§Õ§é§Ú§Ó§à, §Ñ §ã§â§à§é§ß§à: ¨C §¡ §ß§Ö§Ý§î§Ù§ñ §Ý§Ú §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §á§à§Û§ä§Ú §Ü§å§Õ§Ñ-§ß§Ú§Ò§å§Õ§î §Ó §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Ö §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§à? ¨C §®§à§Ø§ß§à, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §Ó§ß§Ú§Ù §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ, §ß§à §ä§Ñ§Þ §ã§Ö§Þ§î §Ô§â§Ñ§Õ§å§ã§à§Ó §Ú §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ö §ß§Ö §Ò§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä.
According to Marina Tsvetaev, she invited Voloshin to a room downstairs where the temperature is never above sem¡¯ gradusov (seven degrees). In VN¡¯s novel Pale Fire (1962) Gradus is the name of Shade¡¯s murderer. Semyorka (Seven) is one of the three secret cards in Pushkin¡¯s story Pikovaya dama (¡°The Queen of Spades,¡± 1833). In his Eugene Onegin Commentary (vol. III, p. 97) VN says that de la Motte Fouqu¨¦¡¯s Pique-Dame (¡°Reports from the Madhouse. From the Swedish,¡± 1826) was known to Pushkin when he wrote ¡°The Queen of Spades.¡± Friedrich de la Motte Fouqu¨¦ is the author of Die Undine (1811), a romance imitated by Zhukovski. In her poem Ya seychas lezhu nichkom¡ (¡°I am now lying prone¡¡± 1913) Marina Tsvetaev compares herself to Salamander and Undine (see my previous post).
According to Tomski (a character in ¡°The Queen of Spades¡±), about sixty years ago his eighty-year-old grandmother (the old Countess) was known in Paris as la V¨¦nus muscovite:
§¯§Ñ§Õ§à§Ò§ß§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§ä§î, §é§ä§à §Ò§Ñ§Ò§å§ê§Ü§Ñ §Þ§à§ñ, §Ý§Ö§ä §ê§Ö§ã§ä§î§Õ§Ö§ã§ñ§ä §ä§à§Þ§å §ß§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Õ, §Ö§Ù§Õ§Ú§Ý§Ñ §Ó §±§Ñ§â§Ú§Ø §Ú §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ó §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§à§Û §Þ§à§Õ§Ö. §¯§Ñ§â§à§Õ §Ò§Ö§Ô§Ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ §ß§Ö§ð, §é§ä§à§Ò §å§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ä§î la V¨¦nus moscovite; §²§Ú§ê§Ö§Ý§î§Ö §Ù§Ñ §ß§Ö§ð §Ó§à§Ý§à§é§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ, §Ú §Ò§Ñ§Ò§å§ê§Ü§Ñ §å§Ó§Ö§â§ñ§Ö§ä, §é§ä§à §à§ß §é§å§ä§î §Ò§í§Ý§à §ß§Ö §Ù§Ñ§ã§ä§â§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §à§ä §Ö§× §Ø§Ö§ã§ä§à§Ü§à§ã§ä§Ú.
About sixty years ago, my grandmother went to Paris, where she created quite a sensation. People used to run after her to catch a glimpse of the 'Muscovite Venus.' Richelieu courted her, and my grandmother maintains that he almost blew out his brains in consequence of her cruelty. (chapter I)
In his story about his grandmother Tomski mentions Casanova and his Memoirs:
§³ §ß§Ö§ð §Ò§í§Ý §Ü§à§â§à§ä§Ü§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü §à§é§Ö§ß§î §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§é§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Û. §£§í §ã§Ý§í§ê§Ñ§Ý§Ú §à §Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ö §³§Ö§ß-§¨§Ö§â§Þ§Ö§ß§Ö, §à §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Þ §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§ð§ä §ä§Ñ§Ü §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §é§å§Õ§Ö§ã§ß§à§Ô§à. §£§í §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö, §é§ä§à §à§ß §Ó§í§Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ù§Ñ §Ó§Ö§é§ß§à§Ô§à §Ø§Ú§Õ§Ñ, §Ù§Ñ §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ö§ä§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ô§à §ï§Ý§Ú§Ü§ã§Ú§â§Ñ §Ú §æ§Ú§Ý§à§ã§à§æ§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §Ü§Ñ§Þ§ß§ñ, §Ú §á§â§à§é§Ñ§ñ. §¯§Ñ§Õ §ß§Ú§Þ §ã§Þ§Ö§ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ§Õ §ê§Ñ§â§Ý§Ñ§ä§Ñ§ß§à§Þ, §Ñ §¬§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§Ñ §Ó §ã§Ó§à§Ú§ç §©§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ü§Ñ§ç §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä, §é§ä§à §à§ß §Ò§í§Ý §ê§á§Ú§à§ß¡
She had shortly before become acquainted with a very remarkable man. You have heard of Count St. Germain, about whom so many marvellous stories are told. You know that he represented himself as the Wandering Jew, as the discoverer of the elixir of life, of the philosopher's stone, and so forth. Some laughed at him as a charlatan; and Casanova, in his Memoirs, says that he was a spy. (ibid.)
Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s husband Sergey Efron was a double agent. Casanova is the main character in Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s play Priklyuchenie (¡°The Adventure,¡± 1919). A character in Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s play, Henry says that the stairs of love has seven steps:
§¡§¯§²§ª
§¯§Ö §Ó§ã§×
§´§Ñ§Ü §á§â§à§ã§ä§à §á§à§Õ §Ý§å§ß§à§ð, §¬§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§Ñ!
§³§Ö§Þ§î §ã§ä§å§á§Ö§ß§Ö§Û §å §Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ú§è§í §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§ß§à§Û...
§¬§¡§©§¡§¯§°§£§¡
§Á §ß§Ñ §Ó§à§ã§î§Þ§à§Û §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ! (scene two)
Casanova replies that, in that case, he is on the eighth step. After the night of love with Ada, Van tells her that he has paid her eight compliments, as a certain Venetian:
¡®My love,¡¯ said Van, ¡®my phantom orchid, my lovely bladder-senna! I have not slept for two nights ¡ª one of which I spent imagining the other, and this other turned out to be more than I had imagined. I¡¯ve had enough of you for the time being.¡¯
¡®Not a very fine compliment,¡¯ said Ada, and rang resonantly for more toast.
¡®I¡¯ve paid you eight compliments, as a certain Venetian ¡ª¡¯
¡®I¡¯m not interested in vulgar Venetians. You have become so coarse, dear Van, so strange...¡¯ (1.31)
Describing the debauch ¨¤ trois (btw., three is another secret card in Pushkin¡¯s story) in his Manhattan apartment after the dinner in ¡®Ursus,¡¯ Van mentions ¡°a Casanovanic situation:¡±
What we have now is not so much a Casanovanic situation (that double-wencher had a definitely monochromatic pencil - in keeping with the memoirs of his dingy era) as a much earlier canvas, of the Venetian (sensu largo) school, reproduced (in 'Forbidden Masterpieces') expertly enough to stand the scrutiny of a borders vue d'oiseau. (2.8)
Ursus is a character in Victor Hugo's novel L'Homme qui Rit ("The Laughing Man," 1869).
In ¡°The Queen of Spades¡± Hermann imagines the old Countess¡¯ long-dead lover whose hair was dressed ¨¤ l'oiseau royal:
§°§ß §ã§á§å§ã§ä§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §Ó§ß§Ú§Ù §á§à §Ó§Ú§ä§à§Û §Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ú§è§Ö §Ú §Ó§à§ê§×§Ý §à§á§ñ§ä§î §Ó §ã§á§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§ð §Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ú§ß§Ú. §®§×§â§ä§Ó§Ñ§ñ §ã§ä§Ñ§â§å§ç§Ñ §ã§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ §à§Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§Ö§Ó; §Ý§Ú§è§à §Ö§× §Ó§í§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ý§à §Ô§Ý§å§Ò§à§Ü§à§Ö §ã§á§à§Ü§à§Û§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§Ö. §¤§Ö§â§Þ§Ñ§ß§ß §à§ã§ä§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §á§Ö§â§Ö§Õ §ß§Ö§ð, §Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à §ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý §ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§×, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í §Ø§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ñ §å§Õ§à§ã§ä§à§Ó§Ö§â§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ §Ó §å§Ø§Ñ§ã§ß§à§Û §Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ß§Ö; §ß§Ñ§Ü§à§ß§Ö§è §Ó§à§ê§×§Ý §Ó §Ü§Ñ§Ò§Ú§ß§Ö§ä, §à§ë§å§á§Ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ §à§Ò§à§ñ§Þ§Ú §Õ§Ó§Ö§â§î §Ú §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §ã§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä§î §á§à §ä§×§Þ§ß§à§Û §Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ú§è§Ö, §Ó§à§Ý§ß§å§Ö§Þ§í§Û §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Þ§Ú §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ§Þ§Ú. §±§à §ï§ä§à§Û §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Û §Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ú§è§Ö, §Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Ý §à§ß, §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §Ò§í§ä§î, §Ý§Ö§ä §ê§Ö§ã§ä§î§Õ§Ö§ã§ñ§ä §ß§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Õ, §Ó §ï§ä§å §ã§Ñ§Þ§å§ð §ã§á§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§ð, §Ó §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ö §é§Ñ§ã, §Ó §ê§Ú§ä§à§Þ §Ü§Ñ§æ§ä§Ñ§ß§Ö, §á§â§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Û ¨¤ l¡¯oiseau royal, §á§â§Ú§Ø§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ñ §Ü §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§å §ä§â§Ö§å§Ô§à§Ý§î§ß§å§ð §ã§Ó§à§ð §ê§Ý§ñ§á§å, §á§â§à§Ü§â§Ñ§Õ§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§Û §ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§Ý§Ú§Ó§Ö§è, §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §å§Ø§Ö §Ú§ã§ä§Ý§Ö§Ó§ê§Ú§Û §Ó §Þ§à§Ô§Ú§Ý§Ö, §Ñ §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ö §á§â§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ö§Ý§à§Û §Ö§Ô§à §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§ß§Ú§è§í §ã§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ß§ñ §á§Ö§â§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§à §Ò§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ...
He descended the winding staircase, and once more entered the Countess's bedroom. The dead old lady sat as if petrified; her face expressed profound tranquillity. Hermann stopped before her, and gazed long and earnestly at her, as if he wished to convince himself of the terrible reality; at last he entered the cabinet, felt behind the tapestry for the door, and then began to descend the dark staircase, filled with strange emotions. "Down this very staircase," thought he, "perhaps coming from the very same room, and at this very same hour sixty years ago, there may have glided, in an embroidered coat, with his hair dressed ¨¤ l'oiseau royal and pressing to his heart his three-cornered hat, some young gallant, who has long been mouldering in the grave, but the heart of his aged mistress has only to-day ceased to beat..." (chapter IV)
Pushkin¡¯s Hermann bears a striking resemblance to the portrait of Napoleon:
§µ§ä§â§à §ß§Ñ§ã§ä§å§á§Ñ§Ý§à. §§Ú§Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ §ª§Ó§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§ß§Ñ §á§à§Ô§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ý§Ñ §Õ§à§Ô§à§â§Ñ§ð§ë§å§ð §ã§Ó§Ö§é§å: §Ò§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Û §ã§Ó§Ö§ä §à§Ù§Ñ§â§Ú§Ý §Ö§× §Ü§à§Þ§ß§Ñ§ä§å. §°§ß§Ñ §à§ä§×§â§Ý§Ñ §Ù§Ñ§á§Ý§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Ö §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§Ñ §Ú §á§à§Õ§ß§ñ§Ý§Ñ §Ú§ç §ß§Ñ §¤§Ö§â§Þ§Ñ§ß§ß§Ñ: §à§ß §ã§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §ß§Ñ §à§Ü§à§ê§Ü§Ö, §ã§Ý§à§Ø§Ñ §â§å§Ü§Ú §Ú §Ô§â§à§Ù§ß§à §ß§Ñ§ç§Þ§å§â§ñ§ã§î. §£ §ï§ä§à§Þ §á§à§Ý§à§Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§Ú §å§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à §ß§Ñ§á§à§Þ§Ú§ß§Ñ§Ý §à§ß §á§à§â§ä§â§Ö§ä §¯§Ñ§á§à§Ý§Ö§à§ß§Ñ. §¿§ä§à §ã§ç§à§Õ§ã§ä§Ó§à §á§à§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§Ý§à §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §§Ú§Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ö§ä§å §ª§Ó§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§ß§å.
The day began to dawn. Lizaveta Ivanovna extinguished her candle: a pale light illumined her room. She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them towards Hermann: he was sitting near the window, with his arms crossed and with a fierce frown upon his forehead. In this attitude he bore a striking resemblance to the portrait of Napoleon. This resemblance struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna. (ibid.)
Hermann is the name of the narrator and main character in VN¡¯s Otchayanie (¡°Despair,¡± 1934). In VN¡¯s novel Hermann murders the man who appears to him as his perfect double. It seems that, to be completed, Shade¡¯s unfinished poem in Pale Fire needs not only Line 1000 (identical to Line 1, ¡°I was the shadow of the waxwing slain¡±), but also Line 1001 (the coda):
By its own double in the windowpane.
Dvoynik (¡°The Double¡±) is a short novel (1846) by Dostoevski and a poem (1914) by Blok (who, according to G. Ivanov, did not know what a coda was). The L disaster that happened on Antiterra in the beau milieu of the 19th century seems to correspond to the mock execution of Dostoevski and the Petrashevskians on Jan. 3, 1850 (NS) in our world.
VN is the author of Korol¡¯, dama, valet (¡°King, Queen, Knave,¡± 1928). The name of the dog in VN¡¯s novel, Tom, brings to mind Tomski in ¡°The Queen of Spades.¡±
Alexey Sklyarenko