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Nothing can be said against your p. s. But note that Ada and Van are unsuccessful in a different way than Marina was in her time. Ada's "pustotsvetnost'" (acarpous destiny) is of different kind than that of her mother who never was a Wunderkind. If Marina is simply a mediocre actress, it seems that "a jinx has been cast on Ada's career" as Demon says in a letter to Van (3.6). The professional failures of Van and Ada are predestined, I think, by the parodic nature of these characters. I mean, they must repeat the destiny of the Chekhovian characters (Treplev and Nina Zarechnaya in The Seagull, Uncle Vanya in the play of the same name, Irina in Three Sisters), of whom they are (at least, partly) parodies.

 

Alexey

 

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