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Doctor Zhivago
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1. DR ZHIVAGO - HF - INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTER 1 (xi - 20) ~ June 4th - June 10th; No Spoilers, Please
Chapter Overviews and Summaries Introduction by John Bayley
Bayley notes that the word "Zhivago" is a derivation of the Russian word "life," an important theme in the novel. He also alludes to the possible thematic metaphor behind the many candles in the book. The poetic powers of Pasternak have inserted themselves abundantly into the novel in various ways including the poems at the end. Poetry is an integral part of the book and translation of poetry is always problematical. The importance of religion is also discussed in this introduction.
Interestingly, Bayley connects the suicide at the end of Anna Karenina to the suicide at the beginning of Dr. Zhivago pointing to the fact they both dealt with trains.
Bayley notes that the book and the translation had admirers (V.S. Pritchett and Edmund Wilson) as well as detractors (Vladimir Nabokov).
In the face of a system which "exalted the new mass man as a triumph of socialist ideals and social engineering," the main point of Dr. Zhivago, according to Bayley, is that of a fairy story, the candle will not go out, the individual is unique in singleness and integrity.
Chapter 1: (The Five O'Clock Express)
The mother of Yuri Zhivago is buried and Yuri's uncle Kolya takes him away to a small town. Father had abandoned them years prior and the family went from riches to poverty. With Uncle Kolya, Yuri meets Nikolaievich, a political writer and looks for his friend Nika. he adults talk and wait for a train which they see has stopped. Yuri grieves both mother and father, but forgets father as he'd never really known him. Misha Gordon, age 11, is on a train with his father. Misha mulls being Jewish and the mess adults have made of the world. The train stops due to the suicide of a man named Zhivago, a man with a son about Misha's age. Nika, a boy of about 14, child of revolutionaries who are elsewhere, keeps away from Yuri and others, he is angry and plays makes believe.
Hi everybody and welcome! Today we open the Doctor Zhivago discussion and will continue through the next weeks as shown in the Syllabus: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Please read the introductory remarks above in this thread to help with such things as mechanics and citations as well as this week's reading summaries.
There is also an ongoing Glossary at: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Again welcome and happy reading!
A point of clarification - I will be using the translation done by Max Hayward and Manya Harari, but I have found that the chapters align perfectly with the more recent translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
by 
Boris Pasternak.
The Introduction by John Bayley is rather interesting and points us toward a number of themes to be aware of and watch for. Along with the "fairy story" of undying love is the importance of an individual life in the face of violent revolution and the advance of a totalitarian regime. What other themes can you see for us to kind of watch for based on the introduction in whatever edition you are reading?
Becky wrote: "A point of clarification - I will be using the translation done by Max Hayward and Manya Harari, 
by Boris Pasternakbut I have found that..."
Thanks for this. I'm reading the more recent translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I'm also following along with the audio, which helps reinforce the pronunciation of names, places, etc.
by
Boris Pasternak
I suspect the examination of Life -- with a capital "L" -- including Nature will provide an underlying theme. Likewise the existence of God. See the monologue concerning "man in history." (page 11, Pevear & Vlolokhonsky)
You bet, Joanne - and I think that capital letter "L" says a lot about the life spirit, not just mere existence - Life that thinks hard and feels strongly. So there's another theme - religion - or perhaps religion and is a sub-theme or motif underlying the overarching theme of Life. The name Zhivago is a derivation of the Russian word meaning "life;" and Zhivago, the life-carrier, also bears within him the mortal affliction, a weak heart, which is the natural opposite of his life-bringing powers, themselves symbolized by his poems and by the candle that burns on his table as he writes..." (Hayward - pg xii)
I think another theme, in addition to Life and religion/existence of God, may be the contrast between an initial ideal and the harsh outcome. I believe that contrast will be seen in several further chapters evidenced in political and, dare I say it, romantic themes.
Good point, Jill. There might be several huge contrasts developed. "Initial ideal" vs "harsh outcome" is one, perhaps wealth as possession and wealth as life/nature is another - (suggested in the Bayley introduction) and varieties of love might another. Then we have light vs dark (light as candles, dark in all sorts of ways maybe). Others ? With *no spoilers,* please. :-)
On page 10 of the Hayward (H) edition, Nikolai asks 'What is history'...'explorations of the riddle of death with the view to overcoming death?' While the character is saying this on a philosophical level, I believe Pasternak is using this on an individual, personal level. Shortly after these statements, we learn of Zhivago's suicide. So can history/death be beaten?
I did want to say reading the opening chapter immediately brought to mind the great opening scene of the David Lean movie of Dr. Zhivago. Now that I am reading the book, I see how the desolation of the landscape created by Lean was an extension of Yura's mind and the terrifying sense of loss the young boy was feeling.
G wrote: "On page 10 of the Hayward (H) edition, Nikolai asks 'What is history'...'explorations of the riddle of death with the view to overcoming death?' While the character is saying this on a philosophic level..."And the book opens with the funeral of Yura's mother. Death is all over this book, natural and otherwise, and still one of the major themes is Life. Rather powerful, eh - and universal - not limited to the Russian Revolution and its aftermath.
Just popping into say that modern technology is not always a good thing. My edition of Zhivago is on my iPad which is wireless only and the power here was cut from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. I'll try to catch up tomorrow!
Hi Bea! Welcome! Come back soon! :-)
Continuing with the Introduction - John Bayley (Hayward) mentions the Cold War. I think it might be interesting to pay attention to what exactly in the book's narrative was objectionable to Stalin and the Communists in Russia circa 1957. (It didn't get Pasternak executed or even deported.) Much of the book might feel a bit dated because the Cold War is over and the same intensity cannot be replaced by translated words alone 50+ years later and relatedly, much of the impact is in the reader response. The idea that Pasternak wrote this and managed to get it published into Italian and then into English was a miracle in itself to many.
So the question today is what aspects of the book live on, even into our age?
Imo, this seems to be a combination of things. First, there is a feeling of poetry in the narrative itself which is evident even in the English translations - hard as it is to translate poetry. And second, the love story in the face of serious obstacles seems to have a more universal appeal. Finally, (and not a lesser point!) the book may be important for the historical perspective alone.
Any other thoughts on the Introduction or opening thoughts (no spoilers, please) in general?
I am wondering if the event of the publication of "Zhivago" was more significant than the novel itself. Often intensely topical books do not stand the test of time. "Zhivago" clearly deals with universal themes and it is not, per say, topical. The depth of its impact, however, may have depended heavily on the Cold War.
Yes, I agree - I think the movie rekindled the universal themes for awhile - and now we have the new translation by Pevear. But neither of those events has resulted in putting Doctor Zhivago on any of the top novels lists that I know of. That said, I was really surprised at how historically accurate it is. This aspect is not easy to tease out because Pasternak assumed the reader would know certain things. But we, 50 + years later and on another continent using a different language, don't have that knowledge. Nevertheless, the book is well worth it.
Historical fiction often uses the idea of how socio-economic-political events and times affect and are interwoven through the actual plot and the lives of the characters. Because Doctor Zhivago is a kind of "fictional autobiography" (he lived these times) he had the theme directly in front of him.
And perhaps at this point the publication history of the book is a point worth pondering. There have been several things which saved it: the miracle of publication at all, the Nobel Prize, the movie, the new translation - anything else?
The rise of interest in the mid-20th century, even including "Mad Men," is drawing interest to art/literature of this period. As Boomers age we are asking, "What were our parents thinking?" "What was whirling around us that we didn't perceive?"
To say nothing of Enemies: A History of the FBI being read on another thread! (heh) 
by 
Tim Weiner
These things have become a part of history now - the threat is gone, it's no longer a part of current events. I think we also need to remember what went on in Russia during the Revolution and under Stalin as well as our response to it. In many ways, Doctor Zhivago provides an excellent peephole into the era.
.
I almost wish I hadn't seen the movie, because I get these visual flashes as I am reading. I am hoping to flesh out his feelings for his mother as we go along. I am also reading Enemies (I commute by train a total of 5 hours every day) and while the Cold War has gone, anarchy and terrorism certainly have not. If we think of the revolutionaries in that light, we might see this beautifully written novel differently. Think of the impact Rushdie's novel Satanic Verses had just a few years ago.
by
Salman Rushdie
Over the years, I have had several Russian friends who were in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and along with telling what life was like there at that time, would tell the stories they heard passed down to them from relatives alive during the Revolution years. The book and the movie have brought to everyone the history of those Revolution years and the Russian atmosphere during those years - meteorologically, the population frustrations and governmental actions. Reading the book - first time - brings back my memories of hearing their stories.
G wrote: "I almost wish I hadn't seen the movie, because I get these visual flashes as I am reading."I've never seen the movie but I saw the ads and trailers and it's hard to get some of that scenery (plus the song) out of your head when you read the narrative! (g)
Virginia wrote: "Over the years, I have had several Russian friends who were in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and along with telling what life was like there at that time, would tell the stories they heard ..."I was thinking that Pasternak used many stories along with his own to describe the chaos of the times. It felt like he'd heard the stories from friends and family, acquaintances, news clippings, etc.
Chapter 1:1 The first two paragraphs of the book:
On they went, singing "Rest Eternal," and whenever they stopped, their feet, the horses, and the gusts of wind seemed to carry on their singing.
"Passers-by made way for the procession, counted the wreaths, and crossed themselves. Some joined in out of curiosity and asked, "Who is being buried?" - "Zhivago," they were told - "Oh, I see. That's what it is." - "It isn't him. It's his wife." - "Well, it comes to the same thing. May her soul rest in peace. It's a fine funeral"
How does that strike you as an opening?
I really like it- from the first words, "On they went," there's a bit of action there and it pulls me in with a bit of mystery, "Who's dead?"
Rest Eternalhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Gebv...
This is the last hymn of the Pannykhida (Memorial Service for the Reposed). It has only two words, Vechnaya Pamyat ("Eternal Memory"). An Orthodox choir from Moscow under the direction of Viktor Popov sings it in the traditional Russian setting. It can make the stones weep.
**
The chanting of "Memory eternal" is introduced by a deacon, as follows:
Deacon: In a blessed falling asleep, grant, O Lord, eternal rest unto Thy departed servant (Name) and make his/her memory to be eternal!
Choir: Memory eternal! Memory eternal! Memory eternal!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_E...
Chapter 1:2The night after his mother's burial Yura and his new guardian, Uncle Nikolai, are spending the night in a monastery when a thunderous blizzard strikes:
Outside there was no trace of the road, the graveyard, or the kitchen garden, nothing but the blizzard, the air smoking with snow. It was almost as if the snowstorm had caught sight of Yura and, conscious of its power to terrify, roared and howled doing everything possible to impress him. Turning over and over in the sky, length after length of whiteness unwound over the earth and shrouded it. The blizzard was alone in the world, it had no rival.
Could this work as a metaphor for Yura's state of mind and being? He is in turmoil and alone in the world. I don't know as he has the power to terrify anyone, though. Why did Pasternak insert that paragraph - is it an ominous foreboding of things to come? A rather poetic statement of large and powerful natural forces aligned against the small and orphaned Yura?
Feast of the Intercession Dating events by church feasts was customary in Russia (as elsewhere) until the early twentieth century, and even later, Pasternack alternates thoughout the novel between civil and religious calendars. The feast of the Protective Veil (or Protection) of the Mother of God falls on October 1. The Russian Orthodox Church, and the Russian state until 1917, followed the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar which have a difference of thirteen days between them. Thus October 1 by the Julian calendar is October 14 by the Gregorian calendar, and the October revolution of 1917 actually brooke out on November 7. (Pevear - p. 653)
Something is puzzling me. The first part of the novel is steeped in Orthodox Christianity and Yura has clearly been raised in the Church. I was puzzled and found this aspect interesting since the Pevear introduction states that Paternak's parents belonged to "the cultivated Jewish milieu of Odessa", moving to Moscow a few moths before Boris was born. Then I read the glossary and saw that your sources say that the Pasternaks converted from Orthodox Christianity to Tolstoyism.So what religion was Boris raised in? I guess in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. But it was something that was nagging at me as I made my way through the first part.
Becky wrote: "Chapter 1:2The night after his mother's burial Yura and his new guardian, Uncle Nikolai, are spending the night in a monastery when a thunderous blizzard strikes:
Outside there was no trace o..."
I love this quote, I think it's incredibly portentous of what's to come, for me it feels deliberate.
Bea wrote: "Something is puzzling me. The first part of the novel is steeped in Orthodox Christianity and Yura has clearly been raised in the Church. I was puzzled and found this aspect interesting since the..."It seems to be a rather puzzling question regarding Pasternak's religion.....from what I have seen, he was raised Jewish. But his parents converted...did he convert?....and, if not, did their conversion have any effect on Boris? I can't seem to find anything that explains it.
Oh I so agree it is definitely deliberate and yes, a foreshadowing, in a metaphorical sense perhaps, of what is to come. I get a sense of awe visualizing how big that storm is - how it engulfs everything.
That was a great question - I found this about Pasternak's religion Although his family did not observe Jewish rituals, Pasternak was aware of Jewish culture and religious practice, but he felt they excluded people who were not Jewish. He claims that when he was three, a nurse took him to be baptized. His sister Josephine could not corroborate this statement, and biographers doubt he was received into the Russian Orthodox church that early in his life. They think it more likely that he converted as an adult, possibly in the late 1930's or in the 1940's. He received an Orthodox burial three days after his death.
"St. Pachomius Library:
A First Draft for a Living Encyclopædia of Orthodox Christianity"
http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xpastern...
I agree that the snowstorm was very descriptive of Yura's mood and despair and had some sense of foreboding. Most of us who are home or sheltered snowbound in a blizzard often feel a deep sense of loneliness and being adrift with no one to 'rescue' you from the storm, even if you are safe and there are people nearby. This loneliness can run very deep to the soul in a storm like this.
Becky wrote: "That was a great question - I found this about Pasternak's religion Although his family did not observe Jewish rituals, Pasternak was aware of Jewish culture and religious practice, but he felt ..."
There's the answer!!! Thanks, Becky.....Bea's question got me thinking but I couldn't find much about the religion aspect.
I also think it's probably important to note that Yura's guardian, his mother's brother Uncle Nikolai, is an ex-priest so the boy was raised with a heightened awareness of Christianity. I don't think any of this is in the book by accident or as filler. Imo, it's vital to understanding the growth and development of Yuri Zhivago, the man.
I was wondering about that - yes, there's the foreshadowing of the coming Revolution but on another level, is Nikolai a refashioning of some historical person? I checked and I doubt it. I think he is a vehicle to introduce Yuri to both political and religious ideas at the same time. Both men are certainly intellectuals involved in the issues of the day. In 1903 the "land question" was a long way from being resolved and there were peasant uprisings - a kind of terrorism - in some areas.
Section 3He could remember a time in his early childhood when a large number of things were still known by his family name. There was a Zhivago factory, a Zhivago bank, Zhivago buildings, a Zhivago necktie pin, even a Zhivago cake which was a kind of baba au rhum..."
"And then suddenly all that was gone. They were poor.
Thoughts? I think perhaps this is another foreshadowing of the Revolution which we. the readers, know is coming. And it does something else, it removes Yura from automatic consideration as being one of the rich capitalists.
... but Father Nikolai had gone through Tolstoyism and revolutionary idealism and was still moving forward. The Tolstoyan movement was a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Tolstoy's views were formed by rigorous study of the ministry of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount.
Tolstoy expressed "great joy" that groups of people "have been springing up, not only in Russia but in various parts of Europe, who are in complete agreement with our views. However, the author also thought it was a mistake to create a specific movement or doctrine after him, urging individuals to listen to their own conscience rather than blindly follow his." also see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolstoya...
"Tolstoyism," was an anti-state, anti-church, egalitarian social doctrine of the kingdom of God on earth, to be achieved by means of civil disobedience and non-violent resistance. It was developed in the last decades of the nineteenth century. A number of revolutionary movements appeared during the same period in Russia, some more or less Marxist, others populist.
****
This is where Doctor Zhivago might get to be tough going for 21st century readers. Pasternak appropriately assumes his readers to be familiar with the ideas of the place and times but we, 60 years later and on a different continent with a different language may not know these things.
This is one place the Glossary can help - it's in the order of the book so if you are trying to avoid spoilers just scroll to the last chapter you've read.
I personally think that yes, it gets a bit tough in places, but it's also beautiful and the ideas are stimulating and if not known, well worth checking out.
Here's the link -
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
I second Becky's thoughts about the Glossary. With a book like this one, it is important to have a reference point to clarify those issues about which the reader is unfamiliar. It is an important component of the overall group read and is very helpful.
Yes, thank you for the glossary. I find the character list to be very helpful.
Thank you - The character list is in the order they appear in the novel (generally - I hope). The major characters have a couple asterisks before their names.
Section 4The year is 1903, the year the Bolsheviks ( "majority"), a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, split from the Mensheviks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik.
Yura and Nikolai are visiting Ivan Ivanovich, an author friend of Nikolai's in Duplyanka (southwest of Moscow, about 1/2 way to Kiev).
http://www.satelliteview.co/?lid=7451...
Nikolai is interested in the "land question." He is apparently political as well as being an ex-priest.
**
The land question was the question about who should own the land - the aristocratic landlords or the peasants who worked on it. This had been a huge issue ever since serfdom was abolished in 1861. The first solution was not at all equitable and highly protested by the peasants. Terrorism was rampant in the form of arson and murder and the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. The Bolsheviks supported giving land to the peasants via agrarian socialism.
**
And there is a storm coming - again - Ivan talks Nikolai into staying for tea.
The word "storm" comes up again and again in the book—the storm of war, of revolution, of human passions, of nature. So far already we've had a blizzard and it looks like a rain storm.
In this case what's the storm all about? The clash of philosophies? Something else? What?
From page 12: Yura felt more and more lonely. He wanted to cry. He slumped to his knees and burst into tears.
“Angel of God, my holy guardian,” he prayed, “keep me firmly on the path of truth and tell Mother I’m all right, she’s not to worry. If there is a life after death, O Lord, receive Mother into Your heavenly mansions where the faces of the saints and of the just shine like stars. Mother was so good, she couldn’t have been a sinner, have mercy on her, Lord, and please don’t let her suffer. Mother!”—in his heart-rending anguish he called to her as though she were another patron saint, and suddenly, unable to bear any more, fell down unconscious.
This just touches my heart - he's obviously learned some church language but along with that there seem to be his own words, "don't let her suffer." And then he calls to to her.
Has Pasternak won over even the most callused of readers by this point?
Yes! I just wanted to hug the boy. Losing a mother so young, and still seeing her as perfect (another patron saint)I am sure will impact how he sees the world as he grows.
Becky wrote: "That was a great question - I found this about Pasternak's religion Although his family did not observe Jewish rituals, Pasternak was aware of Jewish culture and religious practice, but he felt ..."
Thanks. I too was wondering....
Toward the end of Chapter 1, Section 7 we find that it is a man named Zhivago who has committed suicide:Misha's father described him as a well-known millionaire, Zhivago, a good-natured profligate, not quite responsible for his actions."
(This is the 5th paragraph from the end of Section 7 in the Hayward translation. For some reason the name Zhivago is not in the Pevear translation.) -
Question:
The book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy ends with a suicide by train while Zhivago starts with one - what do you make of this?
Leo Tolstoy
At this point, I don't see a pointed connection. It feels like a plot convention. More may become apparent as we go forward.
Perhaps - I'd have to think about that - I do think that in a way, Pasternak was taking the story from where Tolstoy left off. Tolstoy was fine for 19th century but now is a new age. ??? I was thinking about a couple possibilities:
1. Trains in early 19th century literature often symbolize progress. Now we have 20th century literature and the story continues - will there be progress or not?
2. In both cases less than highly moral and respectable people were killed this way.
3. Pasternak is trying to establish this book as being in the canon of great Russian literature.
This idea was mentioned by John Bayley in the Intro to the Hayward edition and I'm just throwing it out there - I'm not sure what I see in it. Hayward goes on to say that
Russian critics are fascinated, for example, by the presence in the book of all sorts of influences and "voices" from Russian literature from Pushkin to Andrei Bely. Tolstoy ends Anna Karenina with a suicide under a train: Pasternak begins his novel with the same event. Even small details supply the coincidence that a Russian reader notices.
Bayley then goes on to discuss the abundance of coincidences which an Western reader will notice.
Pasternak naturalizes these with amazing skill and effectiveness, showing how the chaotic time of revolution and civil war spawned such things wholesale. Tossed about like corks in teh tumult, people are thrwon up against each other in all sorts of unexpected ways and places."
So ... as a literary device turned into a kind of theme - let's keep an eye out for "coincidences."
by
Leo Tolstoy
Along this line of coincidences - it seems a huge coincidence to me that the train which kills Yura's father stops right outside where he and his uncle are staying. The title of the Chapter is The Five-O'Clock Express.
The last paragraphs of Section 5:
“Just think, it’s only a little after five,” said Ivan Ivanovich. “There’s the express from Syzran. It passes here at five past five.”
Far out on the plain, crossing it from right to left, came a neat little yellow and blue train, tiny in the distance. Suddenly they noticed that it had stopped. White puffs of steam flurried over the engine, and then came a prolonged whistle. “That’s strange,” said Voskoboinikov. “Something’s wrong. It has no business to stop in the middle of the marsh out there. Something must have happened. Let’s go and have tea.”
And the end of Section 6 reads:
He thought that nothing terrible would happen if he prayed for his father some other time, as if saying to himself, “Let him wait.” Yura did not remember him at all.
And then in the first lines of Section 7 we go inside that train:
In a second-class compartment of the train sat Misha Gordon, who was travelling with his father, a lawyer from Gorenburg.
The History Book Club
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For the week of June 4th - June 10th, we are reading the Introduction and Chapter One of Dr. Zhivago.
The first week's reading assignment is:
Week One - June 4th - June 10th::
Introduction and Chapter 1 - p. xi - p . 20
Introduction and ONE - The Five-o'clock Express
We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.
This book is being kicked off on June 4th. We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, or on your Kindle. This weekly thread will be opened up today June 4th.
There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.
Becky Lindroos will be leading this discussion.
Welcome,
~Bentley
TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL
REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS
Notes:
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If you need help - here is a thread called the Mechanics of the Board which will show you how:
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Glossary
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