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Eugene Onegin
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Eugene Onegin - Ch 1-2
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1. What do the opening lines about the sick uncle say about Eugene Onegin’s character? Why do you think Pushkin began that way?
2. Onegin is described as a “fop” and a “dandy.” What do you think of when you hear these words?
3. Does Eugene Onegin really have an illness? If so, what is it? And how does his mental state affect his enjoyment of the ball?
4. What kind of person is Lenski? Pushkin talks about his beliefs regarding his future lady and his friends. What do these beliefs say about him?
5. How would you compare Olga with Tatiana?
6. Pushkin says that "Habit is a substitute for happiness." Do you agree?
I am using Nabokov's translation, by the way.
What do the opening lines about the sick uncle say about Eugene Onegin’s character? ..."It reminds me of the Archdeacon in Trollope's Barchester Towers awaiting the death of the Bishop, his father. And of the turmoil in Moscow when Pierre's father is dying in Tolstoy's War and Peace. And of another Tolstoy book that touches on the ambiguity that is felt when a colleague dies -- the name escapes me without the research I've not the time for this moment. But, in all, I guess I am saying as regrettable as EO's character is here, Pushkin is not the only author who has asked us to look at the ambivalent feelings that sometimes accompany a death.
Overall, Canto I reminds me of Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. There are also a couple of allusions to Byron here.
Lori wrote: "3. Does Eugene Onegin really have an illness? If so, what is it? And how does his mental state affect his enjoyment of the ball?"Canto I is called "The Spleen" so that highlights the speaker's references to this ailment of Eugene. The second definition of the OED defines "spleen" as bad temper; spite. It says, "Sense 2 derives from the earlier belief that the spleen was the seat of bad temper." I think this is used figuratively, possibly in this sense. Eugene developed this bad temper twice, once because he overdid it with the balls and then because he overdid it with "the country". Perhaps, the speaker is suggesting that EO should exercise some moderation in his life.
Lori wrote: "1. What do the opening lines about the sick uncle say about Eugene Onegin’s character? Why do you think Pushkin began that way?"
EO's statement, "When will the devil take his own(1.14)!" pretty much sums up his feelings of his uncle. From the whole Canto, we are given to understand that EO would rather be out partying than in taking care of his devilish uncle. I think Pushkin opened with this to provide a characterization of EO. We get a picture right at the beginning of the selfish, immature hero.
Jonathan wrote: "We get a picture right at the beginning of the selfish, immature hero. .."Great summary, Jonathan.
I am having some trouble puzzling out the differences between the narrator, who seems to be a character in his own right, and Onegin. The first stanza seems to be spoken by Onegin, on his way to his uncle's sick-bed and the second stanza moves to the voice of the narrator.
I think that while Pushkin is quite original and I love his Onegin stanza form, Eugene (and also the narrator) are playing at being the cool young dandys of the late 18th and early 19th century. Too cool for school, they don't mind being rude and defying polite society. Often known as "Byronic heroes" in literature, after Byron's characters in "Don Juan," "Manfred," "Beppo" and "Childe Harolde".
I think that is the "illness:" terminal disaffectation and thinking one's self to be uniquely tormented by conformity. They are like the emo kids of the 1990's.
Natalie wrote: "I am having some trouble puzzling out the differences between the narrator, who seems to be a character in his own right, and Onegin. "Which translation are you reading? In mine, it seems like the speaker will introduce a section giving some clue as to if he is talking about EO or himself. That may last a number of stanzas. I also think you can use first person/third person to differentiate. I would also suggest that Pushkin is the speaker. He makes a number of allusions to his own works, characters, and background. In one place, he said he longed to return to Africa where his forefathers were from. This is an obvious reference to Pushkin's ancestors. He was part African.
In the Falen translation and also in the Hofstadter translation, but I just noticed (belatedly) that the first stanza, Onegin's voice, has quotation marks which separates it from stanza two forward.
Mod
Yes, whenever I read some book where a character is waiting for a relative to die because of inheritance, or fighting over inheritance with other family members, I'm always grateful that won't be an issue in my family :-)
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"Spleen" was a sentiment common in 19th century France among the young poets and dandies- they were weary of the world at an age when they hadn't experienced very much of it.
When I think of a dandy or fop, I think of Algernon, in The Importance of Being Ernest- a young man who is well-groomed, stylishly dressed, and who dislikes getting sweaty or dirty.
Mod
I've just finished the first 'chapter' and I'm reading the Tom Beck translation which I'm enjoying very much. The first stanza gave us an impression of Eugene's character - cynical, lacking in family feeling and religious piety but wide awake to the money side of things. It doesn't reveal a particularly sympathetic person but they can often be the most interesting to read about.
It turns out that Eugene doesn't have to do any sick bedside tending anyway seeing as his uncle is dead by the time he gets there.
Eugene 'was' a fop and a dandy when he was younger, but after he became bored and withdrew from the world I don't think it applies any longer. I read a lot of books set around his era and the words 'fop' and 'dandy' aren't automatically interchangeable. 'Fop' is always an insult, although it can be an affectionate term if used in a more teasing manner. 'Dandy' is a description of a follower of fashion who takes care to always be 'a la mode'. It can be used as an insult but anything can. Some 'conservatives' for example apparently think 'Liberal' is a horrendous insult while I'd view it as a compliment.
And no I don't think Eugene is mentally ill. He's got too much money and thinks too much of himself and too little of other people that's all. Pushkin takes care to emphasise his terrible upbringing which I presume he means to hold responsible for the ruining of his character.
Rosemarie wrote: "I like Pushkin's description of the ball, and then he goes into a strange aside about tiny feet. Does the author have a "thing" for feet?"If I recall correctly, he had a thing for a particular woman, and he was obsessed with her feet.
Mod
I think i read somewhere that he did. This part was a bit tedious for me because feet gross me out big time!
Lori wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "I like Pushkin's description of the ball, and then he goes into a strange aside about tiny feet. Does the author have a "thing" for feet?"I think i read somewhere that he did. This part was a bit tedious for me because feet gross me out big time! ..."
I remember thinking at the time about the big role women's feet played in China and if any of that rubbed off into Russia. I never followed through to see if the time periods even fit together, let alone if there was truly any similarity.
It seemed to me it posed a bit the role of fetishes in romantic attraction and perhaps the relationship to personal healthy balance.
Mod
Lori wrote: "2. Onegin is described as a “fop” and a “dandy.” What do you think of when you hear these words?"The speaker was pretty effective in describing what he meant by this. He calls EO a "child of fashion" (20.3). EO has everything that is in fashion from London and Paris. In Canto 21, the speaker metonymically lists numerous things, such as combs of all sizes, phials of crystal scents, 30 different scissors, straight and curved, steel files, which EO has in abundance.
He also tells us, "Three mortal hours per diem he / Would loiter by the looking-glass" (22.9-10). The obsession with his appearance in the mirror reminds me of the myth of Narcissus. Here is a quick note on Ovid's version: "Narcissus sees himself in the pond and he is amazed by the beauty of the reflection. Once he figured out that his love could not be addressed, he killed himself (greekmyths-greekmythology.com)."
Rosemarie wrote: "I have finished chapter 1 and found the narrator intrusive,"Good point. This is one of the most intrusive narrators I have found. I wonder if he will take part in the rest of the story, or if he will maintain status quo.
Mod
It reminded me of Dorian Gray, as Wilde spent several sentences (if not pages - it felt like it!) on his jewelry. But the point about Narcissus is good too.
Mod
They became friends "from having nothing else to do."
Mod
We have two young men-Lenski and Onegin.
I think things are going to get interesting soon.
Rosemarie wrote: "The author introduces two sisters: Olga, blonde, blue-eyed and full of energy; her older sister Tatanya, dark, sickly(?), and fond of horror stories. We have two young men-Lenski and Onegin.I th..."
We're still talking about the first part, right? I recall Tatanya, but I do not recall the rest. Do you remember in which Cantos these characters were introduced?
I assume most people (though probably not you) will find, like me, long (narrative) poems rather intimidating. Actually I joined GR a few years ago in the hope that group reading would sustain my efforts with Dante (which it did, to some degree). Since then I’ve read several other 'mega-poems' with GR groups and now I'm ready to tackle Pushkin’s 'novel in verse'. Some observations to start with.First: why does the author bother to tell us that this is a 'novel in verse'? Why is it important, and what exactly makes this poem a novel? It is too early for an answer, but this is something I will keep in mind.
The epigraph: "Steeped in vanity, he was possessed moreover by that particular sort of pride that makes a man acknowledge with equal indifference both his good and evil actions, a consequence of a sense of superiority, perhaps imaginary. From a private letter."
What private letter? Is this a comment on EO? But we are not dealing with EO’s confession, or are we?
From the dedication:
"Half humorous, half pessimistic,
Blending the plain and idealistic—
Amusement's yield, the careless fruit
Of sleepless nights, light inspirations,
Born of my green and withered years . . .
The intellect's cold observations,
The heart's reflections, writ in tears"
So according to the artist this poem has its roots in contradictions - another thing to keep in mind.
Mod
We are reading two chapters a week, so that we can complete the book in 4 weeks.
Rosemarie wrote: "Olga appears in Chapter 2, Canto 21. Tatyana appears in Chapter 2, Canto24.We are reading two chapters a week, so that we can complete the book in 4 weeks."
Oops. I didn't realize that. I am behind. Okay! Thank you Rosemarie.
Mod
I cannot tell who the poet is talking about in Canto 2, stanzas 30-32. Someone please help. Who married the guard?
The narrator is (for now at least) as much the hero of the poem as EO. But then, they seem almost one character. No wonder the narrator finds it necessary to assure us in stanza I, 56 (Falen translation):The country, love, green fields and flowers,
Sweet idleness! You have my heart.
With what delight I praise those hours
That set Eugene and me apart.
For otherwise some mocking reader
Or, God forbid, some wretched breeder
Of twisted slanders might combine
My hero's features here with mine
And then maintain the shameless fiction
That, like proud Byron, I have penned
A mere self-portrait in the end;
As if today, through some restriction,
We're now no longer fit to write
On any theme but our own plight.
Now that’s a trick authors (with the connivance of the professors) often try - but they won’t fool us. No doubt Pushkin wrote those lines to make even the most inattentive reader aware of this play with his hero, narrator and author personae. They are the same, and then, (like us readers) they are not.
Not only Byron, but also Ovid is explicitly mentioned in book I (stanza 8). But while proud Byron is parodied, there seems to exist a narrow kinship with the Roman. Another writer of light verse, trying to take himself not too seriously. Another poet exiled to the far shores of the Black Sea by an indignant emperor.
Jonathan wrote: "I cannot tell who the poet is talking about in Canto 2, stanzas 30-32 ..."The delightful stanza’s II 30-33 give the history of Olga’s mother. As a girl she was in love with a romantic hero, a gambling guards-cadet, but was forced to marry a more home-bred suitor.
Sometimes an arranged marriage is not so bad after all: habit taking the place of bliss (but alas, not always - and maybe we should be allowed to make our own mistakes?).
Lovelace and Grandison are bad, resp. good male heroes from Richardson novels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_His...
Thank you Wendel. I will reread that part now, and see if it makes more sense.
In II.13, when the speaker tells of Lensky forming a friendship with Onegin, he says, "So verse and prose, they came together. No ice and flame, no stormy weather and granite, were so far apart," (Johnston, II.13.5-7). The poet is clearly using antithesis, but how are "stormy weather and granite" antithetical. Does anyone have a different translation that may shed some light on this?
Also in II.13, the speaker says, "Friendship, as I must own to you, / blooms when there's nothing else to do" (Johnston, II.13.13-14). What do you make of this statement? Is this how friendship arises--out of boredom?
Mod
Rosemarie wrote: "Sometimes " friendship" arises when there is a boring situation. However, when circumstances change and the environment changes, then comes the test. Does the "friendship" endure?"I was thinking about this, and I make friends all the time at work because of boredom. We just start talking about whatever to kill time and the next thing you know we talk everyday. Interesting observation by the poet.
Finally pulled a couple of copies of EO from my shelves this morning. I really must discipline myself to avoid the temptation of immersing myself again in this right now, but I am following the discussion here.Nabokov's commentary continues to overwhelm me. Just the number of years ago placed post-it flags, that diminish as the pages approach the end of this tome, even in paperback, bear witness. But these notes still help me feel the Russian infatuation and years of love affairs with this passionate poet and his work.
In particular, given the discussion here, I skimmed again the pages of discussion of the foot fetish and its probable historical sources from the life of the poet. Even while admiring and being almost appalled by the sometimes tedious, fastidious academic work and detail, I still bristled a little at Nabokov's presumption that French quotations need not be translated for his readers. Now, again, a personal a tick mark on a to-do-list of other literary allusions about feet and foot fetishes, including ancient and Biblical.
More fun were the introductory pages of Hoffsteader's translation, where he speaks of quoting an appropriate line from the innards of EO, only to have return to him the following line by the young Russian woman leading the friends' tour of Petersburg that frosty winter evening. Little noting the moment at the time, other than the surprise of her easy and quick retort, he went on to understand the broad knowledge of the poem and story by a wide swath of Russians.
Well, that may be a thing of the past since Gorby freed the 'second world' - en passant opening it up for all kinds of McDonalds. I envied the broad cultural knowledge in communist countries, but frankly, it did involve rote learning and more than a bit of conventionality.For another group I just edited a short list of post-Soviet Russian writers and stumbled upon Dmitry Bykov who apparently writes a column in rhyme in Russia’s last newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. Pushkin would have loved that. The same Bykov wrote a short-story 'How Putin Became President of the USA'. Fantasy overtaken by life.
Wendel wrote: "...list of post-Soviet Russian writers .."Meaning, since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991? What writers might still be called "Soviet"?
Currently, I am enjoying all the taken-for-granted allusions to literature in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Although Towles is American, he embeds the love and knowledge of literature into his story and characters.
Lily wrote: "Meaning, since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991"? That's what I meant, yes. After searching the net on post-Soviet lit today I'm left with the impression that after 25 years they did not even begin to tackle the Soviet years. While here, after 1945, the trauma of WW2 was the dominant theme for a long time.
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
A Gentleman in Moscow (other topics)Barchester Towers (other topics)
War and Peace (other topics)
