According to Isabella (in VN¡¯s play ¡°The Waltz Invention,¡± 1938, one of the five whores procured by Son), she is seventeen and her sister Olga (whose father was a Russian Prince) is a year older:
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã (§Ü §à§Õ§ß§à§Û §Ú§Ù §Õ§Ó§å§ç, §á§à§Þ§à§Ý§à§Ø§Ö). §¬§Ñ§Ü §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö §Ú§Þ§ñ?
§´§Ñ. §ª§Ù§Ñ§Ò§Ö§Ý§Ý§Ñ. §¯§à §Ü§Ý§Ú§Ö§ß§ä§í §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ù§à§Ó§å§ä §á§â§à§ã§ä§à §¢§Ö§Ý§Ü§Ñ.
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §¢§à§Ø§Ö §Þ§à§Û... (§¬§à §Ó§ä§à§â§à§Û.) §¡ §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö?
§£§ä§à§â§Ñ§ñ. §°§Ý§î§Ô§Ñ. §®§à§Û §à§ä§Ö§è §Ò§í§Ý §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §Ü§ß§ñ§Ù§î. §¥§Ñ§Û§ä§Ö §á§Ñ§á§Ú§â§à§ã§Ü§å.
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §Á §ß§Ö §Ü§å§â§ð. §³§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Ó§Ñ§Þ §Ý§Ö§ä?
§ª§Ù§Ñ§Ò§Ö§Ý§Ý§Ñ. §®§ß§Ö §ã§Ö§Þ§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î, §Ñ §ã§Ö§ã§ä§â§Ñ §ß§Ñ §Ô§à§Õ §ã§ä§Ñ§â§ê§Ö. (Act Three)
17 + 1 = 18. In Pushkin¡¯s Eugene Onegin Lenski (who is in love with Olga, the younger of the Larin sisters) is eighteen, when he challenges Onegin to a duel:
§ª §á§à§Õ§Ö§Ý§à§Þ: §Ó §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§à§â§Ö §ã§ä§â§à§Ô§à§Þ,
§¯§Ñ §ä§Ñ§Û§ß§í§Û §ã§å§Õ §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §á§â§Ú§Ù§Ó§Ñ§Ó,
§°§ß §à§Ò§Ó§Ú§ß§ñ§Ý §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ó§à §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à§Þ:
§£§à-§á§Ö§â§Ó§í§ç, §à§ß §å§Ø §Ò§í§Ý §ß§Ö§á§â§Ñ§Ó,
§¹§ä§à §ß§Ñ§Õ §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î§ð §â§à§Ò§Ü§à§Û, §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§à§Û
§´§Ñ§Ü §á§à§Õ§ê§å§ä§Ú§Ý §Ó§Ö§é§à§â §ß§Ö§Ò§â§Ö§Ø§ß§à.
§¡ §Ó§à-§Ó§ä§à§â§í§ç: §á§å§ã§Ü§Ñ§Û §á§à§ï§ä
§¥§å§â§Ñ§é§Ú§ä§ã§ñ; §Ó §à§ã§î§Þ§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä
§°§ß§à §á§â§à§ã§ä§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à. §¦§Ó§Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§£§ã§Ö§Þ §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ö§Þ §ð§ß§à§ê§å §Ý§ð§Ò§ñ,
§¢§í§Ý §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ö§ß §à§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ä§î §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ
§¯§Ö §Þ§ñ§é§Ú§Ü§à§Þ §á§â§Ö§Õ§â§Ñ§ã§ã§å§Ø§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§¯§Ö §á§í§Ý§Ü§Ú§Þ §Þ§Ñ§Ý§î§é§Ú§Ü§à§Þ, §Ò§à§Û§è§à§Þ,
§¯§à §Þ§å§Ø§Ö§Þ §ã §é§Ö§ã§ä§î§ð §Ú §ã §å§Þ§à§Þ.
And serve him right: on strict examination,
he, having called his own self to a secret court,
accused himself of much:
First, it had been already wrong of him
to make fun of a timid, tender love
so casually yesternight;
and secondly: why, let a poet
indulge in nonsense! At eighteen
'tis pardonable. Eugene,
loving the youth with all his heart,
ought to have shown himself to be
no bandyball of prejudices,
no fiery boy, no scrapper, but a man
of honor and of sense. (Six: X)
Displeased with himself, Onegin compares himself to myachik predrassuzhdeniy (a bandyball of prejudices) and to pylkiy mal¡¯chik (a fiery boy). At the end of his poem Prochti i katay v Parizh i v Kitay (¡°Read and Go to Paris and to China,¡± 1927) Mayakovski explains to the children that the Earth is krugla (round) and compares it to myachik v ruke u mal¡¯chika (a little ball in a boy¡¯s hand):
§¡ §ñ §Ö§Þ§å:
¡ª §±§à§ä§à§Þ§å,
§é§ä§à §Ù§Ö§Þ§Ý§ñ §Ü§â§å§Ô§Ý§Ñ,
§ß§Ö§ä §ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§Û §å§Ô§Ý§Ñ ¡ª
§Ó§â§à§Õ§Ö §Þ§ñ§é§Ú§Ü§Ñ
§Ó §â§å§Ü§Ö §å §Þ§Ñ§Ý§î§é§Ú§Ü§Ñ.
The adjective kruglyi (round) comes from the noun krug (circle). In the above quoted stanza of EO Pushkin uses the words vo-pervykh (in the first place) and vo-vtorykh (in the second place). In VN¡¯s story Krug (¡°The Circle,¡± 1936) the first word is vo-vtorykh and the last sentence begins with the word vo-pervykh:
§£§à-§Ó§ä§à§â§í§ç: §á§à§ä§à§Þ§å §é§ä§à §Ó §ß§×§Þ §â§Ñ§Ù§í§Ô§â§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §Ò§Ö§ê§Ö§ß§Ñ§ñ §ä§à§ã§Ü§Ñ §á§à §²§à§ã§ã§Ú§Ú.
In the second place, because he was possessed by a sudden mad hankering after Russia.
§£§à-§á§Ö§â§Ó§í§ç, §á§à§ä§à§Þ§å §é§ä§à §´§Ñ§ß§ñ §à§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ö §á§â§Ú§Ó§Ý§Ö§Ü§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Û, §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ö §ß§Ö§å§ñ§Ù§Ó§Ú§Þ§à§Û, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ú §ß§Ö§Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ.
In the first place, because Tanya had remained as enchanting and as invulnerable as she had been in the past.
A namesake of Tatiana Larin (in Pushkin¡¯s EO Olga¡¯s elder sister who marries Prince N.), Tanya Godunov-Cherdyntsev (the first love of Innokentiy, the protagonist in ¡°The Circle¡±) is the sister of Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev, the main character and narrator in VN¡¯s novel Dar (¡°The Gift,¡± 1937). Fyodor¡¯s first collection of poetry begins with the poem Propavshiy myach (¡°The Lost Ball¡±):
§®§ñ§é §Ù§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ä§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §Þ§à§Û §á§à§Õ §ß§ñ§ß§Ú§ß
§Ü§à§Þ§à§Õ, §Ú §ß§Ñ §á§à§Ý§å §ã§Ó§Ö§é§Ñ
§ä§Ö§ß§î §Ù§Ñ §Ü§à§ß§è§í §Ò§Ö§â§Ö§ä §Ú §ä§ñ§ß§Ö§ä
§ä§å§Õ§Ñ, §ã§ð§Õ§Ñ, -- §ß§à §ß§Ö§ä §Þ§ñ§é§Ñ.
§±§à§ä§à§Þ §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ü§à§é§Ö§â§Ô§Ñ §Ü§â§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ
§Ô§å§Ý§ñ§Ö§ä §Ú §Ô§â§à§ç§à§é§Ö§ä §Ù§â§ñ --
§Ú §á§å§Ô§à§Ó§Ú§è§å §Ó§í§Ò§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä,
§Ñ §á§à§Ô§à§Õ§ñ §á§à§Ý§ã§å§ç§Ñ§â§ñ.
§¯§à §Ó§à§ä §Ó§í§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §ã§Ñ§Þ §à§ß
§Ó §ä§â§Ö§á§Ö§ë§å§ë§å§ð §ä§Ö§Þ§ß§à§ä§å, --
§é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §Ó§ã§ð §Ü§à§Þ§ß§Ñ§ä§å, §Ú §á§â§ñ§Þ§à
§á§à§Õ §ß§Ö§á§â§Ú§ã§ä§å§á§ß§å§ð §ä§Ñ§ç§ä§å.
My ball has rolled under Nurse's commode.
On the floor a candle
Tugs at the end of the shadow
This way and that, but the ball is gone.
Then comes the crooked poker.
It potters and clutters in vain,
Knocks out a button
And then half a zwieback.
Suddenly out darts the ball
Into the quivering darkness,
Crosses the whole room and promptly goes under
The impregnable sofa.
and ends with the poem O myache naydennom (¡°About the Found Ball¡±):
§°§Õ§ß§Ú §Ü§Ñ§â§ä§Ú§ß§í §Õ§Ñ §Ü§Ú§à§ä§í
§Ó §ä§à§ä §Ô§à§Õ §à§ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ§ç,
§Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Þ§í §Ó§í§â§à§ã§Ý§Ú, §Ú §é§ä§à-§ä§à
§ã§Ý§å§é§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §ã §Õ§à§Þ§à§Þ: §Ó§ä§à§â§à§á§ñ§ç
§Ó§ã§Ö §Ü§à§Þ§ß§Ñ§ä§í §Þ§Ö§Ø§Õ§å §ã§à§Ò§à§ð
§Þ§Ö§ß§ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Þ§Ö§Ò§Ö§Ý§î§ð §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Û
§ê§Ü§Ñ§á§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §ê§Ú§â§Þ§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §ä§à§Ý§á§à§ð
§ß§Ö§á§à§Ó§à§â§à§ä§Ý§Ú§Ó§í§ç §Ó§Ö§ë§Ö§Û.
§ª §Ó§à§ä §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ-§ä§à, §á§à§Õ §ä§Ñ§ç§ä§à§ð,
§ß§Ñ §à§Ò§ß§Ñ§Ø§Ú§Ó§ê§Ö§Þ§ã§ñ §á§à§Ý§å,
§Ø§Ú§Ó§à§Û, §ß§Ö§Ó§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à-§Þ§Ú§Ý§í§Û,
§à§ß §à§Ò§ß§Ñ§â§å§Ø§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §Ó §å§Ô§Ý§å.
Only pictures and ikons remained
In their places that year
When childhood was ended, and something
Happened to the old house: in a hurry
All the rooms with each other
Were exchanging their furniture,
Cupboards and screens, and a host
Of unwieldy big things:
And it was then that from a sofa,
On the suddenly unmasked parquet
Alive, and incredibly dear,
It was revealed in a corner. (Chapter One)
In VN¡¯s play Sobytie (¡°The Event,¡± 1938) the portrait-painter Troshcheykin works on a painting Mal¡¯chik s pyat¡¯yu myachami (¡°The Boy with Five Balls¡±). At Antonina Pavlovna¡¯s birthday party, while Lyubov¡¯s and Vera¡¯s mother is reading to the guests her fairy tale Voskresayushchiy lebed¡¯ (¡°The Resurrecting Swan¡±), Troshcheykin tells his wife that they are absolutely alone and Lyubov¡¯ replies that these are dva odinochestva (two solitudes) and both are sovsem krugly (perfectly round):
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¯§Ñ§Þ §ß§å§Ø§ß§à §Ò§Ö§Ø§Ñ§ä§î...
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¥§Ñ, §Õ§Ñ, §Õ§Ñ!
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. ...§Ò§Ö§Ø§Ñ§ä§î, -- §Ñ §Þ§í §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å-§ä§à §Þ§Ö§Õ§Ý§Ú§Þ §á§à§Õ §á§Ñ§Ý§î§Þ§Ñ§Þ§Ú §ã§à§ß§ß§à§Û §£§Ñ§Þ§á§å§Ü§Ú. §Á §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§å§ð, §é§ä§à §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ó§Ú§Ô§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ...
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §°§á§Ñ§ã§ß§à§ã§ä§î? §¯§à §Ü§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ñ? §°, §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §Ò §ä§í §Þ§à§Ô §á§à§ß§ñ§ä§î!
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §°§á§Ñ§ã§ß§à§ã§ä§î, §ã§ä§à§Ý§î §Ø§Ö §â§Ö§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§Ñ§ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú §â§å§Ü§Ú, §á§Ý§Ö§é§Ú, §ë§×§Ü§Ú. §§ð§Ò§Ñ, §Þ§í §ã§à§Ó§Ö§â§ê§Ö§ß§ß§à §à§Õ§ß§Ú.
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¥§Ñ, §à§Õ§ß§Ú. §¯§à §ï§ä§à §Õ§Ó§Ñ §à§Õ§Ú§ß§à§é§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ, §Ú §à§Ò§Ñ §ã§à§Ó§ã§Ö§Þ §Ü§â§å§Ô§Ý§í. §±§à§Û§Þ§Ú §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ!
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §°§Õ§ß§Ú §ß§Ñ §ï§ä§à§Û §å§Ù§Ü§à§Û §à§ã§Ó§Ö§ë§×§ß§ß§à§Û §ã§è§Ö§ß§Ö. §³§Ù§Ñ§Õ§Ú -- §ä§Ö§Ñ§ä§â§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ó§Ö§ä§à§ê§î §Ó§ã§Ö§Û §ß§Ñ§ê§Ö§Û §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú, §Ù§Ñ§Þ§×§â§Ù§ê§Ú§Ö §Þ§Ñ§ã§Ü§Ú §Ó§ä§à§â§à§ã§ä§Ö§á§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §Ü§à§Þ§Ö§Õ§Ú§Ú, §Ñ §ã§á§Ö§â§Ö§Õ§Ú -- §ä§×§Þ§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ô§Ý§å§Ò§Ú§ß§Ñ §Ú §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§Ñ, §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§Ñ, §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§Ñ, §Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ§ñ§ë§Ú§Ö §ß§Ñ §ß§Ñ§ã, §Ø§Õ§å§ë§Ú§Ö §ß§Ñ§ê§Ö§Û §Ô§Ú§Ò§Ö§Ý§Ú. (Act Two)
Troshcheykin mentions glaza (the eyes) looking at him and at Lyubov¡¯ and expecting their death and repeats this word three times.
At the end of his poem Neskol¡¯ko slov obo mne samom (¡°A Few Words about Myself,¡± 1913) Mayakovski says that he is as odinok (lonely), as posledniy glaz (the last eye) of a man who goes towards blind people:
§Á §à§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Ü, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§Ú§Û §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù
§å §Ú§Õ§å§ë§Ö§Ô§à §Ü §ã§Ý§Ö§á§í§Þ §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü§Ñ!
Mayakovski¡¯s poem begins as follows:
§Á §Ý§ð§Ò§Ý§ð §ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§ä§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §å§Þ§Ú§â§Ñ§ð§ä §Õ§Ö§ä§Ú.
I like to see how children die.
At the beginning of ¡°The Event¡± Lyubov¡¯ mentions detskie myachi (children¡¯s balls) that tear her to pieces because she cannot forget her little son who died three years ago, at the age of two (and who would have been five on the day after tomorrow):
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¦§ã§ä§î §Ó§Ö§ë§Ú, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ä§Ö§â§Ù§Ñ§ð§ä.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¬§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Ö §Ó§Ö§ë§Ú?
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §·§à§ä§ñ §Ò§í §ï§ä§Ú §Õ§Ö§ä§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §Þ§ñ§é§Ú. §Á §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§å. §³§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ß§ñ §Þ§Ñ§Þ§Ú§ß§à §â§à§Ø§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä, §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Ó§ä§â§Ñ §Ö§Þ§å §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ò§í §á§ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä. §±§ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä. §±§à§Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Û. (Act One)
In Act Two, as she speaks to her husband, and in Act Three, in a dialogue with her mother, Lyubov¡¯ quotes Princess N.¡¯s words in Chapter Eight of Pushkin¡¯s EO: ¡°Onegin, I was younger then, I [was, I daresay,] better-looking¡± (XLIII: 1-2). It seems to me that on her dead son¡¯s fifth birthday Lyubov¡¯ stabs herself and, in the ¡°sleep of death,¡± dreams of Salvator Waltz (the main character in ¡°The Waltz Invention¡± whose real name we never learn). The reporter who runs errands for Waltz, Son (in the English version, Trance) brings to mind chudnyi son (a wondrous dream) that Tatiana dreams in Chapter Five of Pushkin¡¯s EO. In Tatiana¡¯s prophetic dream Onegin stabs Lenski.
Lyubov¡¯ is twenty-five when she commits suicide. The action in ¡°The Event¡± takes place in August of 1938. Lyubov¡¯ was born in 1913 (the year in which Mayakovski wrote his poem ¡°A Few Words about Myself¡±). Mayakovski¡¯s autobiography is entitled Ya sam (¡°Myself,¡± 1928). VN¡¯s ¡°late namesake¡± shot himself dead on April 14, 1930, exactly five years after the day on which VN married Vera Slonim.
In ¡°The Waltz Invention¡± the action takes place in spring (the Colonel mentions spring and the flowers of pseudo-acacia being sold in the streets). At the beginning of his poem Lyubov¡¯ (¡°Love,¡± 1926) Mayakovski mentions tsvety (flowers), vesenniy vid (the vernal appearance) of the world and staren¡¯kiy-staren¡¯kiy bytik (a very old daily routine):
§®§Ú§â
§à§á§ñ§ä§î
§è§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §à§Ò§â§à§ã,
§å §Þ§Ú§â§Ñ
§Ó§Ö§ã§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Û §Ó§Ú§Õ.
§ª §Ó§ß§à§Ó§î
§Ó§ã§ä§Ñ§×§ä
§ß§Ö§â§Ö§ê§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Ó§à§á§â§à§ã -
§à §Ø§Ö§ß§ë§Ú§ß§Ñ§ç
§Ú §à §Ý§ð§Ò§Ó§Ú.
§®§í §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Þ §á§Ñ§â§Ñ§Õ,
§ß§Ñ§â§ñ§Õ§ß§å§ð §á§Ö§ã§ß§ð.
§¤§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§Þ §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§à,
§Ó§í§ç§à§Õ§ñ §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ú§ä§Ú§ß§Ô.
§¯§à §é§Ñ§ã§ä§à
§á§à§Õ §ï§ä§Ú§Þ,
§á§à§Ü§â§í§ä§í§Û §á§Ý§Ö§ã§Ö§ß§î§ð,
§ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ö§ß§î§Ü§Ú§Û-§ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ö§ß§î§Ü§Ú§Û §Ò§í§ä§Ú§Ü.
In his essay on Mayakovski, Dekol'tirovannaya loshad' ("The Horse in a D¨¦colett¨¦ Dress," 1927), Khodasevich quotes Mayakovski¡¯s poem Lyubov¡¯ and says that Mayakovski's themes have become petty:
"§¯§Ñ §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§ß§à§Þ §æ§â§à§ß§ä§Ö", §Ò§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý§à, §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §Ó§Ó§Ö§â§ç §Õ§ß§à§Þ §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§à§â§Ñ§é§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý "§Ò§å§â§Ø§å§Ñ§Ù§ß§å§ð §Þ§à§â§Ñ§Ý§î". §¡ §ä§Ö§á§Ö§â§î -- "§ß§Ñ§Õ§à §Ô§à§Ý§à§ã §á§à§Õ§í§Þ§Ñ§ä§î §Ù§Ñ §é§Ú§ã§ä§à§á§Ý§à§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§î §à§ä§ß§à§ê§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú§ç §Ú §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§ß§í§ç §Õ§Ö§Ý". §£§à§ä §à§ß -- §Ô§à§Ý§à§ã §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§â§Ñ§Ù§å§Þ§Ú§ñ, §å§Þ§Ö§â§Ö§ß§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §Ú §Ñ§Ü§Ü§å§â§Ñ§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú. §¬§Ñ§Ü §Ú§Ù§Þ§Ö§Ý§î§é§Ñ§Ý§Ú §Ö§Ô§à §ä§Ö§Þ§í!...
§®§Ö§Ý§Ü§à§Þ§Ö§ë§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§î §Ó §³§³§³§² §à§Õ§ß§å §Ù§Ñ §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Û §á§à§Õ§ã§à§Ó§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§à§Þ§å §ã§Ó§à§Ú §Þ§Ö§Ý§Ü§à§ä§â§Ñ§Ó§é§Ñ§ä§í§Ö §ä§Ö§Þ§à§é§Ü§Ú, §Ú §à§ß §Ú§Þ§Ú §ß§Ö §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ß§Ö §Ò§â§Ö§Ù§Ô§å§Ö§ä -- §à§ß §á§à §å§ê§Ú §å§Ó§ñ§Ù §Ó §ß§Ú§ç. §¯§Ö§Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §á§Ö§Ó§Ö§è §ç§Ñ§Þ§Ñ §á§â§à§ä§Ö§ã§ä§å§ð§ë§Ö§Ô§à, §à§ß §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §á§Ö§Ó§è§à§Þ §ç§Ñ§Þ§Ñ §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§á§à§Ý§å§é§ß§à§Ô§à: §á§Ö§Ó§è§à§Þ §Ö§Ô§à §â§Ñ§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ö§Û §Ú §á§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Û, §à§ç§â§Ñ§ß§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Þ §Ö§Ô§à §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô §Ú §è§Ö§Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Þ §ß§Ö§Õ§å§Ô§à§Ó.
In his last poem/suicide note Mayakovski says that his lyubovnaya lodka (love boat) razbilas¡¯ o byt (smashed upon the dreary routine). There is byt (everyday life) in sobytie (event). At Antonina Pavlovna¡¯s birthday party Ryovshin (Lyubov¡¯s lover) gives her the chrysanthemums and says that khrizantemy (chrysanthemums) always have temy (themes):
§²§×§Ó§ê§Ú§ß. §¿§ä§à §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å? §¹§×§â§ß§í§Û §Ü§à§ã§ä§ð§Þ? §¬§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ö §Ú§ß§Ñ§é§Ö: §ã§Ö§Þ§Ö§Û§ß§à§Ö §ä§à§â§Ø§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à, §á§ñ§ä§Ú§Õ§Ö§ã§ñ§ä§Ú§Ý§Ö§ä§Ú§Ö §Õ§à§â§à§Ô§à§Û §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§Ú§è§í. §£§í, §Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä§ã§ñ, §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§ä§Ö §ç§â§Ú§Ù§Ñ§ß§ä§Ö§Þ§í, §¡§ß§ä§à§ß§Ú§ß§Ñ §±§Ñ§Ó§Ý§à§Ó§ß§Ñ... §¸§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ü §ã§Ñ§Þ§í§Û §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ü§Ú§Û.
§¡§ß§ä§à§ß§Ú§ß§Ñ §±§Ñ§Ó§Ý§à§Ó§ß§Ñ. §±§â§Ö§Ý§Ö§ã§ä§î! §³§á§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ò§à, §Ô§à§Ý§å§Ò§é§Ú§Ü. §§ð§Ò§å§ê§Ü§Ñ, §Ó§à§ß §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ó§Ñ§Ù§Ñ.
§²§×§Ó§ê§Ú§ß. §¡ §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö, §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å §è§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ü §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ü§Ú§Û? §±§à§ä§à§Þ§å §é§ä§à §å §ç§â§Ú§Ù§Ñ§ß§ä§Ö§Þ§í §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ö§ã§ä§î §ä§Ö§Þ§í.
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §¥§å§ê§Ñ §à§Ò§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ... (Act Two)
Lyubov' calls Ryovshin dusha obshchestva (the life and soul of the society). Dusha obshchestva (1929) is a poem by Mayakovski.
Btw., Grib, Grab, Grob and Grub (four of the eleven generals in ¡°The Waltz Invention¡±) bring to mind the beginning of Mayakovski¡¯s poem Khoroshee otnoshenie k loshadyam (¡°Good Treatment of Horses,¡± 1918):
§¢§Ú§Ý§Ú §Ü§à§á§í§ä§Ñ,
§±§Ö§Ý§Ú §Ò§å§Õ§ä§à:
- §¤§â§Ú§Ò.
§¤§â§Ñ§Ò§î.
§¤§â§à§Ò.
§¤§â§å§Ò.
The hooves clattered,
As if singing:
¡ª Grib.
Grab¡¯.
Grob.
Grub.
Grab¡¯ is the imperative mood of grabit¡¯ (¡°to rob¡±). In his essay "The Horse in a D¨¦colett¨¦ Dress" Khodasevich describes Mayakovski¡¯s ¡°evolution¡± from grab¡¯ nagrablennoe drugimi (steal what was stolen by others) to beregi nagrablennoe toboy (save what was stolen by you):
§¯§Ú §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§â§à§Õ§ß§Ö§Û, §ß§Ú §å§Þ§ß§Ö§Û, §ß§Ú §ä§à§ß§î§ê§Ö §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §ß§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý. §¿§ä§à -- §ß§Ö §Ö§Ô§à §á§å§ä§î. §¯§à §Ù§Ñ§Ò§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §Ú §á§à§å§é§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à §ß§Ñ§Ò§Ý§ð§Õ§Ñ§ä§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §á§à§Ô§â§à§Þ§ë§Ú§Ü §Ò§Ö§Ù§Ù§Ñ§ë§Ú§ä§ß§í§ç §á§â§Ö§Ó§â§Ñ§ë§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Ó §Ù§Ñ§ë§Ú§ä§ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ §ã§Ú§Ý§î§ß§í§ç; "§â§Ö§Ó§à§Ý§ð§è§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â" -- §Ó §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ö§â§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ô§à §à§ç§â§Ñ§ß§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ §ß§ï§á§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §å§ã§ä§à§Ö§Ó; §ß§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ú§Û §Õ§Ú§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú§ä§é§Ú§Ü -- §Ó §ã§ä§à§â§à§Ø§Ñ §á§â§Ú §Ý§Ñ§Ò§Ñ§Ù§Ö. §·§à§Õ, §Ó§á§â§à§é§Ö§Þ, §Ó§á§à§Ý§ß§Ö §Ö§ã§ä§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Õ§Ý§ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à "§â§Ö§Ó§à§Ý§ð§è§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§Ñ", §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ó §®§Ñ§ñ§Ü§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û: §à§ä "§Ô§â§Ñ§Ò§î §ß§Ñ§Ô§â§Ñ§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§Þ§Ú" -- §Ü "§Ò§Ö§â§Ö§Ô§Ú §ß§Ñ§Ô§â§Ñ§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö §ä§à§Ò§à§Û".
Grob is Russian for ¡°coffin.¡± In ¡°The Event¡± Troshcheykin does not want v grobu tryastis¡¯ po bulyzhnikam (to be jolted in a coffin on his way to cemetery):
§£§Ö§â§Ñ. §¯§å §Ó§à§ä, §ñ §á§à§ê§Ý§Ñ. §´§Ö§Ò§Ö, §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä, §ß§â§Ñ§Ó§ñ§ä§ã§ñ §Þ§à§Ú §á§Ö§â§é§Ñ§ä§Ü§Ú? §³§Ú§Þ§á§Ñ§ä§Ú§é§ß§í§Ö, §á§â§Ñ§Ó§Õ§Ñ? §¡ §ä§í, §¡§Ý§×§ê§Ñ, §å§ã§á§à§Ü§à§Û§ã§ñ... §£§à§Ù§î§Þ§Ú §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ó §â§å§Ü§Ú... §¯§Ú§Ü§ä§à §ä§Ó§à§Ö§Û §Ü§â§à§Ó§Ú §ß§Ö §Ø§Ñ§Ø§Õ§Ö§ä...
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §©§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Õ§å§ð, §Ô§à§Ý§å§Ò§å§ê§Ü§Ñ, §ä§Ó§à§Ö§Þ§å §ã§á§à§Ü§à§Û§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§ð! §¡ §Ó§à§ä §Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ä§Ó§à§ð §ã§Ö§ã§ä§â§å §å§ç§Ý§à§á§Ñ§ð§ä §ß§Ñ§á§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý, §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ó§à§ä §ä§í §Ó§ã§á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§ê§î -- §Ú §á§à§á§â§í§Ô§Ñ§Ö§ê§î. §Á, §Ó§à §Ó§ã§ñ§Ü§à§Þ §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Ö, §Ù§Ñ§Ó§ä§â§Ñ §å§Ö§Ù§Ø§Ñ§ð. §¡ §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §Õ§Ö§ß§Ö§Ô §ß§Ö §Õ§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ß§å, §ä§à §Ò§å§Õ§å §Ù§ß§Ñ§ä§î, §é§ä§à §ç§à§ä§ñ§ä §Þ§à§Ö§Û §Ô§Ú§Ò§Ö§Ý§Ú. §°, §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §ñ §Ò§í§Ý §Ò§í §â§à§ã§ä§à§Ó§ë§Ú§Ü, §Ò§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Û§ë§Ú§Ü, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ò§Ö§â§Ö§Ô§Ý§Ú! §¯§Ú§é§Ö§Ô§à, §ß§Ú§é§Ö§Ô§à! §¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ-§ß§Ú§Ò§å§Õ§î §Þ§à§Ú §Ü§Ñ§â§ä§Ú§ß§í §Ù§Ñ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§ñ§ä §Ý§ð§Õ§Ö§Û §á§à§é§Ö§ã§Ñ§ä§î §Ù§Ñ§ä§í§Ý§Ü§Ú, §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ñ §ï§ä§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö §å§Ó§Ú§Ø§å. §¬§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ñ §á§à§Õ§Ý§à§ã§ä§î! §µ§Ò§Ú§Û§è§Ñ §á§à §ß§à§é§Ñ§Þ §Ò§â§à§Õ§Ú§ä §á§à§Õ §à§Ü§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ñ §Ø§Ú§â§ß§í§Û §Ñ§Õ§Ó§à§Ü§Ñ§ä §ã§à§Ó§Ö§ä§å§Ö§ä §Õ§Ñ§ä§î §å§ä§â§ñ§ã§ä§Ú§ã§î. §¬§ä§à §ï§ä§à §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §å§ä§â§ñ§ç§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ, §ã§à§Ò§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§ñ? §¿§ä§à §Þ§ß§Ö-§ä§à §Ó §Ô§â§à§Ò§å §ä§â§ñ§ã§ä§Ú§ã§î §á§à §Ò§å§Ý§í§Ø§ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ§Þ? §¯§Ö§ä-§ã, §Ú§Ù§Ó§Ú§ß§Ú§ä§Ö! §Á §Ö§ë§× §á§à§ã§ä§à§ð §Ù§Ñ §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ! (Act One)
Grub means ¡°rude.¡± Troshcheykin tells Lyubov¡¯s that she is gruba, kak torgovka kost¡¯yom (rude as a poissarde):
§§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î. §·§à§é§Ö§ê§î, §ñ §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§å, §é§ä§à §Þ§ß§Ö §á§â§Ú§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §Ú§ß§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ó §Ô§à§Ý§à§Ó§å: §Ñ §é§ä§à §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §ä§í §æ§Ö§ß§à§Þ§Ö§ß§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§í§Û §á§à§ê§Ý§ñ§Ü?
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §¡ §ä§í §Ô§â§å§Ò§Ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ä§à§â§Ô§à§Ó§Ü§Ñ §Ü§à§ã§ä§î§×§Þ. (ibid.)
Alexey Sklyarenko