As I pointed out in my previous posts, the myth of Orpheus is central to VN¡¯s story Vesna v Fialte (¡°Spring in Fialta,¡± 1936). While Nina (the narrator¡¯s mistress who dies in a car crash) is associated with Eurydice (Orpheus¡¯ wife who was bitten by a viper and died instantly), Ferdinand (as the narrator calls Nina¡¯s husband, a Franco-Hungarian writer) seems to be Lzheorfey (False Orpheus). In the second poem of her cycle Marina (1921), Tryom Samozvantsam zhena¡ (¡°The Wife of Three Impostors¡¡±), Marina Tsvetaev curses her namesake, Marina Mnishek (the wife of three men impersonating Prince Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible who was killed in infancy), and, in the poem¡¯s last line, calls her Lzhemarina (False Marina):
¡ª §³§Ó§à§Ö§Ü§à§â§í§ã§ä§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ü§â§à§Ó§î! ¡ª
§±§â§à§Ü§Ý§ñ§ä§Ñ, §á§â§à§Ü§Ý§ñ§ä§Ñ §Ò§å§Õ§î
§´§í ¡ª §§Ø§Ö§Õ§Ú§Þ§Ú§ä§â§Ú§ð §ã§Þ§à§Ô§ê§Ñ§ñ §Ò§í§ä§î §§Ø§Ö§Þ§Ñ§â§Ú§ß§à§Û!
According to the narrator of VN¡¯s story, Nina hardly ever read one of her husband¡¯s books:
§¤§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§Ý §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §á§à §±§Ñ§â§Ú§Ø§å §Ö§Ô§à "Passage ¨¤ niveau", §à§ß §Ò§í§Ý §à§é§Ö§ß§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§ã§ñ, §à§Ü§â§å§Ø§×§ß, §Ú §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ (§å §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §Ô§Ú§Ò§Ü§à§ã§ä§î §Ú §ç§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ü§à§ã§ä§î §Ó§à§ã§á§à§Ý§ß§ñ§Ý§Ú §ß§Ö§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§à§Ü §à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ) §å§Ø§Ö §Ó§à§ê§Ý§Ñ §Ó §â§à§Ý§î, §ñ §ß§Ö §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§å §Þ§å§Ù§í, §ß§à §Ò§Ý§Ú§Ù§Ü§à§Ô§à §ä§à§Ó§Ñ§â§Ú§ë§Ñ §Þ§å§Ø§Ñ-§ä§Ó§à§â§è§Ñ; §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §Ò§à§Ý§Ö§Ö: §ä§Ú§ç§à§Û §ã§à§Ó§Ö§ä§ß§Ú§è§í, §é§å§ä§Ü§à §ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ù§ñ§ë§Ö§Û §á§à §Ö§Ô§à §ã§à§Ü§â§à§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§Þ §Ú§Ù§Ó§Ú§Ý§Ú§ß§Ñ§Þ, §ç§à§ä§ñ §ß§Ñ §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Þ §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ö §Ó§â§ñ§Õ §Ý§Ú §à§Õ§à§Ý§Ö§Ý§Ñ §ç§à§ä§î §à§Õ§ß§å §Ú§Ù §Ö§Ô§à §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô, §Ú§Ù§å§Þ§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à §Ù§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ú§ç §Ý§å§é§ê§Ú§Ö §á§à§Õ§â§à§Ò§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §Ú§Ù §â§Ñ§Ù§Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ñ §Ú§Ù§Ò§â§Ñ§ß§ß§í§ç §Õ§â§å§Ù§Ö§Û.
At the time we met, his Passage ¨¤ niveau was being acclaimed in Paris; he was, as they say, ¡°surrounded,¡± and Nina (whose adaptability was an amazing substitute for the culture she lacked) had already assumed if not the part of a muse at least that of a soul mate and subtle adviser, following Ferdinand ¡¯s creative convolutions and loyally sharing his artistic tastes; for although it is wildly improbable that she had ever waded through a single volume of his, she had a magic knack of gleaning all the best passages from the shop talk of literary friends.
In Canto Four of Ruslan and Lyudmila (1820) Pushkin addresses Zhukovski (the author of The Twelve Sleeping Maidens parodied by Pushkin in Canto Four of Ruslan and Lyudmila) and calls him severnyi Orfey (the Northern Orpheus):
§±§à§ï§Ù§Ú§Ú §é§å§Õ§Ö§ã§ß§í§Û §Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§±§Ö§Ó§Ö§è §ä§Ñ§Ú§ß§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§ç §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Û,
§§ð§Ò§Ó§Ú, §Þ§Ö§é§ä§Ñ§ß§Ú§Û §Ú §é§Ö§â§ä§Ö§Û,
§®§à§Ô§Ú§Ý §Ú §â§Ñ§ñ §Ó§Ö§â§ß§í§Û §Ø§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î,
§ª §Þ§å§Ù§í §Ó§Ö§ä§â§Ö§ß§à§Û §Þ§à§Ö§Û
§¯§Ñ§á§Ö§â§ã§ß§Ú§Ü, §á§Ö§ã§ä§å§ß §Ú §ç§â§Ñ§ß§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î!
§±§â§à§ã§ä§Ú §Þ§ß§Ö, §ã§Ö§Ó§Ö§â§ß§í§Û §°§â§æ§Ö§Û,
§¹§ä§à §Ó §á§à§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ú §Þ§à§Ö§Û §Ù§Ñ§Ò§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Û
§´§Ö§á§Ö§â§î §Ó§à§ã§Ý§Ö§Õ §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ý§Ö§é§å
§ª §Ý§Ú§â§å §Þ§å§Ù§í §ã§Ó§à§Ö§ß§â§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Û
§£§à §Ý§Ø§Ú §á§â§Ö§Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ß§à§Û §à§Ò§Ý§Ú§é§å.
Pushkin apologizes that he will expose a charming lie (vo lzhi prelestnoy) of the lyre of [Zhukovski¡¯s] willful muse.
Unlike Marina Mnishek (who is also a character in Pushkin¡¯s drama ¡°Boris Godunov,¡± 1825), VN¡¯s Nina is disinterested in love:
§ª §á§à§ä§à§Þ §Õ§à §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Ô§à §â§Ñ§Ù§ì§Ö§Ù§Õ§Ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü §Þ§í §Õ§â§å§Ô §ã §Õ§â§å§Ø§Ü§à§Û §ß§Ú §à §é§Ö§Þ §Ú §ß§Ö §á§à§ä§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú, §ß§Ö §ã§Ô§à§Ó§Ñ§â§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ß§Ñ§ã§é§×§ä §ä§Ö§ç §Ò§å§Õ§å§ë§Ú§ç, §Ó§Õ§Ñ§Ý§î §å§Ø§Ö §ä§â§à§ß§å§Ó§ê§Ú§ç§ã§ñ, §á§ñ§ä§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§Ú §Õ§à§â§à§Ø§ß§í§ç §Ý§Ö§ä, §ß§Ñ§Ô§â§å§Ø§Ö§ß§ß§í§ç §é§Ñ§ã§ä§ñ§Þ§Ú §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú§ç §ß§Ö§ã§à§Ò§â§Ñ§ß§ß§í§ç §Ó§ã§ä§â§Ö§é, §Ú §ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§ñ §Ù§Ñ §ß§Ö§Û §Ó §Ý§Ñ§Ò§Ú§â§Ú§ß§ä§Ö §Ø§Ö§ã§ä§à§Ó §Ú §ä§Ö§ß§Ö§Û §Ø§Ö§ã§ä§à§Ó, §Ú§Ù §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§ç §ã§à§ã§ä§à§ñ§Ý §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â (§Ö§Ô§à §à§Ò§ë§Ú§Û §å§Ù§à§â §Þ§à§Ô§å §ß§í§ß§Ö §Ó§à§ã§ã§ä§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§Ú§ä§î §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §á§à §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§Þ, §á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§í§Þ §Ö§Þ§å, §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â§Ñ§Þ, §ß§à §Ò§Ö§Ù §¯§Ú§ß§í), §ñ §Ò§í§Ý, §á§à§Þ§ß§Ú§ä§ã§ñ, §á§à§â§Ñ§Ø§×§ß §ß§Ö §ã§ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Ö§× §ß§Ö§Ó§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ §Ü§à §Þ§ß§Ö, §ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §é§Ú§ã§ä§à§ã§Ö§â§Õ§Ö§é§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ö§Û §Ö§ã§ä§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§ã§ä§î§ð §ï§ä§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö§Ó§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ, §Ú§Ò§à §ñ §Ö§ë§× §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ý, §é§ä§à, §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ú §ñ §Õ§Ó§Ñ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ, §à§ß§à §ã§Þ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §Ò§í §ä§à§ä§é§Ñ§ã §é§å§Õ§ß§à§Û §à§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ü§à§Û §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó, §Ó§Ö§ã§×§Ý§í§Þ, §Õ§à§Ò§â§í§Þ, §á§à §Ó§à§Ù§Þ§à§Ø§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §Õ§Ö§ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Þ §å§é§Ñ§ã§ä§Ú§Ö§Þ, §ä§à§é§ß§à §Ø§Ö§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §â§à§Õ§ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ó§à§Û §Ó§à§Õ§à§Û, §ã§à§Õ§Ö§â§Ø§Ñ§ë§Ö§Û §è§Ö§Ý§Ö§Ò§ß§í§Ö §ã§à§Ý§Ú, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §à§ß§Ñ §Ú§Ù §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Ô§à §Ü§à§Ó§ê§Ú§Ü§Ñ §à§ç§à§ä§ß§à §á§à§Ú§Ý§Ñ §Ó§ã§ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à, §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ß§Ñ§á§à§Þ§ß§Ú.
And soon after, we all dispersed to our respective homes, without my having talked with Nina, nor made any plans about the future, about those fifteen itinerant years that had already set out toward the dim horizon, loaded with the parts of our unassembled meetings; and as I watched her in the maze of gestures and shadows of gestures of which the rest of that evening consisted (probably parlor games¡ªwith Nina persistently in the other camp), I was astonished, I remember, not so much by her inattention to me after that warmth in the snow as by the innocent naturalness of that inattention, for I did not yet know that had I said a word it would have changed at once into a wonderful sunburst of kindness, a cheerful, compassionate attitude with all possible cooperation, as if woman¡¯s love were springwater containing salubrious salts which at the least notice she ever so willingly gave anyone to drink.
Nina, who never quite became her husband¡¯s muse and who ¡°turned out after all to be mortal,¡± is nevertheless a true Eurydice. While Ferdinand is a false Orpheus, the author of Spring in Fialta is the genuine one.
In ¡°The Fragments of Onegin¡¯s Journey¡± [XXVII] Pushkin calls Rossini Evropy baloven¡¯ ¨C Orfey (¡°the pet of Europe, Orpheus¡±) and compares Rossini¡¯s music to Ay (champagne):
§¯§à §å§Ø §ä§Ö§Þ§ß§Ö§Ö§ä §Ó§Ö§é§Ö§â §ã§Ú§ß§Ú§Û,
§±§à§â§Ñ §ß§Ñ§Þ §Ó §à§á§Ö§â§å §ã§Ü§à§â§Ö§Û:
§´§Ñ§Þ §å§á§à§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§í§Û §²§à§ã§ã§Ú§ß§Ú,
§¦§Ó§â§à§á§í §Ò§Ñ§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§ß§î ¡ª §°§â§æ§Ö§Û.
§¯§Ö §Ó§ß§Ö§Þ§Ý§ñ §Ü§â§Ú§ä§Ú§Ü§Ö §ã§å§â§à§Ó§à§Û,
§°§ß §Ó§Ö§é§ß§à §ä§à§ä §Ø§Ö, §Ó§Ö§é§ß§à §ß§à§Ó§í§Û,
§°§ß §Ù§Ó§å§Ü§Ú §Ý§î§×§ä ¡ª §à§ß§Ú §Ü§Ú§á§ñ§ä,
§°§ß§Ú §ä§Ö§Ü§å§ä, §à§ß§Ú §Ô§à§â§ñ§ä,
§¬§Ñ§Ü §á§à§è§Ö§Ý§å§Ú §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§í§Ö,
§£§ã§Ö §Ó §ß§Ö§Ô§Ö, §Ó §á§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§Ú §Ý§ð§Ò§Ó§Ú,
§¬§Ñ§Ü §Ù§Ñ§ê§Ú§á§Ö§Ó§ê§Ö§Ô§à §Ñ§Ú
§³§ä§â§å§ñ §Ú §Ò§â§í§Ù§Ô§Ú §Ù§à§Ý§à§ä§í§Ö...
§¯§à, §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ§Ñ, §á§à§Ù§Ó§à§Ý§Ö§ß§à §Ý§î
§³ §Ó§Ú§ß§à§Þ §â§Ñ§Ó§ß§ñ§ä§î d§à-r§Ö-mi-s§àl?
But darker grows already the blue evening.
Time to the opera we sped:
there 'tis the ravishing Rossini,
the pet of Europe, Orpheus.
Not harking to harsh criticism,
he is ever selfsame, ever new;
he pours out melodies, they seethe,
they flow, they burn
like youthful kisses,
all sensuousness, in flames of love,
like, at the fuzzing point, Ay's
stream and gold spurtles...
but, gentlemen, is it permitted
to equalize do-re-mi-sol with wine?
P.S. to my previous post: Zhukovski¡¯s niece Maria Protasov with whom the poet was in love, died in childbirth in 1823. Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s poem Evridika ¨C Orfeyu (¡°Eurydice to Orpheus¡±) was written one hundred years later, in 1923. The action in Spring in Fialta takes place in 1932 (the two last numbers in the year have been reversed).
The ¡°buninagram¡± in my previous post should be:
§¢§å§ß§Ú§ß + §Ñ§ß§Ñ§Ô§â§Ñ§Þ§Þ§Ñ + §¡§Ú = §Ò§å§Þ§Ñ§Ô§Ñ + §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ + §®§Ñ§â§Ú§ß§Ñ
§¢§å§ß§Ú§ß - Bunin
§Ñ§ß§Ñ§Ô§â§Ñ§Þ§Þ§Ñ - anagram
§¡§Ú ¨C Ay
§Ò§å§Þ§Ñ§Ô§Ñ - paper
§¯§Ú§ß§Ñ - Nina
§®§Ñ§â§Ú§ß§Ñ ¨C Marina
Ferdinand is a Hungarian author (who writes in French). In Marina Tsvetaev¡¯s story Chudo s loshad¡¯mi (¡°A Miracle with Horses,¡± 1934) Nina (a handsome circus performer whom her patron made the Commissar of Circuses) now and then entrusts her baby to the care of a young Hungarian horseman:
§´§Ñ§Ü §Ü§Ñ§Ü §à§ß§Ñ §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§Ñ §Ú §Ô§Ý§å§á§Ñ, §Ú §ä§Ö§Þ §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§Ö§Ö, §é§Ö§Þ §Ô§Ý§å§á§Ö§Ö, §Ú §ä§Ö§Þ §Ô§Ý§å§á§Ö§Ö, §é§Ö§Þ §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§Ö§Ö, §Ú §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ü§Ñ§Ü §à§ß §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ý §Ö§×, ¡ª §Ú §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ö§Þ§å §ß§Ö§é§Ö§Ô§à §Ò§í§Ý§à §Õ§Ñ§ä§î §Ö§Û, §Ü§â§à§Þ§Ö §Ó§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ß§ä§ß§à§Ô§à §Ü§à§Þ§Ú§ã§ã§Ñ§â§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ, §ä§à §à§ß §Ú §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ý §Ö§× §Ü§à§Þ§Ú§ã§ã§Ñ§â§ê§Ö§Û §è§Ú§â§Ü§à§Ó.
§ª §Ó§à§ä §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§Ú§è§Ñ §¯§Ú§ß§Ñ §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §ß§Ñ §à§é§Ö§â§Ö§Õ§ß§í§ç §Ú §Ó§ß§Ö§à§é§Ö§â§Ö§Õ§ß§í§ç §Ù§Ñ§ã§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ§ç, §Õ§Ö§â§Ø§Ñ §ß§Ñ §â§å§Ü§Ñ§ç §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Ô§à §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§à§Ô§à §Þ§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§è§Ñ, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Ô§à §á§à§â§å§é§Ñ§Ý§Ñ, §Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ö§Û §á§â§Ú§ç§à§Õ§Ú§Ý§à§ã§î §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§î §ß§Ö§Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§å§ð §â§Ö§é§î, §ä§à §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ§å §ã§á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ñ ¡ª «§à§ß» §ß§Ñ§ê§Ö§Ô§à §Ó§ã§ä§å§á§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ, ¡ª §ä§à §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ§å §ã§Ý§Ö§Ó§Ñ (§ã§à §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§í §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ñ) ¡ª §ß§Ñ§Ö§Ù§Õ§ß§Ú§Ü§å-§Ó§Ö§ß§Ô§â§å, §Ó§Õ§Ó§à§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§Ö§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§å§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Þ§å, §é§Ö§Þ §á§â§Ñ§Ó§í§Û, §Ù§Ñ§ä§à §Ó§Õ§Ó§à§Ö §Ò§à§Ý§Ö§Ö §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§Þ§å. §®§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§Ö§è §á§â§Ö§Õ§á§à§é§Ú§ä§Ñ§Ý §ß§Ñ§Ö§Ù§Õ§ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ, §Ú§Ò§à §å §ä§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ò§à§â§à§Õ§í. §¯§à §à§ß §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ý §Ú §Ó§ã§Ö§ã§Ú§Ý§î§ß§à§Ô§à §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü§Ñ, §Ú§Ò§à §å §ä§à§Ô§à §Þ§Ö§Ø §Õ§à§Ó§Ö§â§é§Ú§Ó§í§ç §à§ä §Ò§Ý§Ú§Ù§à§â§å§Ü§à§ã§ä§Ú §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù §á§à§ã§Ó§Ö§â§Ü§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý §Ú §á§à§Ü§Ñ§é§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ú§Ù§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§ß§í§Û §á§â§Ö§Õ§Þ§Ö§ä, §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§å§Ö§Þ§í§Û §Ó §Þ§à§Ö§Û §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§Ö «§á§Ö§ß§ã§ß§Ö». §®§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§Ö§è §ë§Ú§á§Ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ §ß§à§ã §Ü§à§Þ§Ú§ã§ã§Ñ§â§Ñ §Ú §Õ§×§â§Ô§Ñ§Ý §Ù§Ñ §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§í§Û §é§å§Ò §Ó§Ö§ß§Ô§â§Ñ. §´§Ñ§Ü §é§ä§à §á§â§Ú §Õ§Ó§å§ç §ß§ñ§ß§î§Ü§Ñ§ç §Þ§å§Ø§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §â§à§Õ§Ñ §å §ã§Þ§í§ê§Ý§×§ß§à§Ô§à §â§Ö§Ò§×§ß§Ü§Ñ §Ò§í§Ý§à §Õ§Ó§Ñ §Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Þ§í§ç §Ù§Ñ§ß§ñ§ä§Ú§ñ.
In VN¡¯s story Nina perishes when Segur¡¯s car runs at full speed into the truck of a traveling circus.
Alexey Sklyarenko