A Hero of Our Time (28 page)
Read A Hero of Our Time Online
Authors: Mikhail Lermontov
Tags: #Fiction, #Classics, #Historical, #Literary
PECHORIN’S DIARIES
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
1.
Rousseau’s confessions: This refers to
Les Confessions
by Rousseau.
1. TAMANRousseau’s confessions: This refers to
Les Confessions
by Rousseau.
1
izba:
A traditional Russian log house.
izba:
A traditional Russian log house.
2
fatera:
This word means quarters.
fatera:
This word means quarters.
3
slobodka:
A settlement exempted from normal State obligations.
slobodka:
A settlement exempted from normal State obligations.
4
On that day the dumb shall cry out: A reference to the Bible, Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb sing.”
On that day the dumb shall cry out: A reference to the Bible, Isaiah 35:5-6: “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb sing.”
5
uryadnik:
A Cossack NCO, a noncommissioned officer.
uryadnik:
A Cossack NCO, a noncommissioned officer.
6
rusalka:
A water nymph, frequently demonic, who lives underwater, often at the bottom of rivers.
rusalka:
A water nymph, frequently demonic, who lives underwater, often at the bottom of rivers.
7
La Jeune-France: A group of young French writers of the 1830s who are known to have exaggerated the theories of Romanticism. They looked up to Victor Hugo.
La Jeune-France: A group of young French writers of the 1830s who are known to have exaggerated the theories of Romanticism. They looked up to Victor Hugo.
8
Mignon: A character in Goethe’s novel
Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.
2. PRINCESS MARYMignon: A character in Goethe’s novel
Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.
1
The opening line of a short poem by Alexander Pushkin titled “The Cloud” (1835).
The opening line of a short poem by Alexander Pushkin titled “The Cloud” (1835).
2
whist: A trick-taking card game played by four players. It was popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
whist: A trick-taking card game played by four players. It was popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
3
fichu:
A triangular scarf worn around the neck.
fichu:
A triangular scarf worn around the neck.
4
à la moujik:
This means “in the peasant style.”
à la moujik:
This means “in the peasant style.”
5
“Mon cher, je haïs les hommes pour ne pas mépriser, car autrement la vie serait une farce trop dégoutante”:
“My dear friend, I hate men in order not to despise them, otherwise life would be a most repulsive farce.” (French)
“Mon cher, je haïs les hommes pour ne pas mépriser, car autrement la vie serait une farce trop dégoutante”:
“My dear friend, I hate men in order not to despise them, otherwise life would be a most repulsive farce.” (French)
6
“Mon cher, je méprise les femmes pour ne pas les aimer, car autrement la vie serait un mélodrame trop ridicule”:
“My dear friend, I despise women in order not to love them, otherwise life would be a most ridiculous melodrama.” (French)
“Mon cher, je méprise les femmes pour ne pas les aimer, car autrement la vie serait un mélodrame trop ridicule”:
“My dear friend, I despise women in order not to love them, otherwise life would be a most ridiculous melodrama.” (French)
7
cherkeska:
A Circassian tunic, worn over the
beshmet.
cherkeska:
A Circassian tunic, worn over the
beshmet.
8
Beshtau, Zmeinoi, Zheleznaya, and Lisaya: The translation, from Turkish and Russian, of these names: Five-mountains, The Snake, The Iron One, The Bare One.
Beshtau, Zmeinoi, Zheleznaya, and Lisaya: The translation, from Turkish and Russian, of these names: Five-mountains, The Snake, The Iron One, The Bare One.
9
“Mon dieu, un Circassien!”:
“My God, a Circassian!” (French)
“Mon dieu, un Circassien!”:
“My God, a Circassian!” (French)
10
“Ne craignez rien, madame—je ne suis pas plus dangereux que votre cavalier.”:
“Fear not, madam—I am no more dangerous than your cavalier.” (French)
“Ne craignez rien, madame—je ne suis pas plus dangereux que votre cavalier.”:
“Fear not, madam—I am no more dangerous than your cavalier.” (French)
11
Nogay wagon: The Nogays are an East Caucasian people.
Nogay wagon: The Nogays are an East Caucasian people.
12
C’est impayable!:
“That’s priceless!” (French)
C’est impayable!:
“That’s priceless!” (French)
13
This is a reference to Pyotr Pavlovich Kaverin, a friend of Pushkin’s who served in the same regiment as Lermontov, and who is mentioned in the first chapter of
Eugene Onegin.
This is a reference to Pyotr Pavlovich Kaverin, a friend of Pushkin’s who served in the same regiment as Lermontov, and who is mentioned in the first chapter of
Eugene Onegin.
14
Library for Reading: A journal of the 1830s and 1840s (Biblioteka dlya Chteniya), which published memoirs and foreign novels, among other things.
Library for Reading: A journal of the 1830s and 1840s (Biblioteka dlya Chteniya), which published memoirs and foreign novels, among other things.
15
souls: Serfs in Russia were counted as “souls.”
souls: Serfs in Russia were counted as “souls.”
16
From act 3, scene 3 of
Woe from Wit
by Aleksandr Griboedov. It is slightly misquoted by Lermontov here.
From act 3, scene 3 of
Woe from Wit
by Aleksandr Griboedov. It is slightly misquoted by Lermontov here.
17
The cold observations . . . : A fragment from
Eugene Onegin
by Alexander Pushkin.
The cold observations . . . : A fragment from
Eugene Onegin
by Alexander Pushkin.
18
vampire: The vampire referred to here is the hero of a story by John Polidori called “The Vampyre,” about a young man who negotiates society by wreaking havoc on the virtuous and encouraging the sinister.
vampire: The vampire referred to here is the hero of a story by John Polidori called “The Vampyre,” about a young man who negotiates society by wreaking havoc on the virtuous and encouraging the sinister.
19
son coeur et sa fortune:
His heart and his fortune. (French)
son coeur et sa fortune:
His heart and his fortune. (French)
20
arkhaluk:
A Caucasian coat.
arkhaluk:
A Caucasian coat.
21
“É finita la commedia!”:
“The comedy is finished!” (Italian)
3. THE FATALIST“É finita la commedia!”:
“The comedy is finished!” (Italian)
1
stanitsa:
A large Cossack village.
stanitsa:
A large Cossack village.
2
Boston: A card game.
Boston: A card game.
3
faro: A card game that was popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, involving an entire pack of playing cards and any number of players.
faro: A card game that was popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, involving an entire pack of playing cards and any number of players.
4
stuss: A variant of the card game faro.
stuss: A variant of the card game faro.
5
chikhir:
A young red wine from the Caucasus.
chikhir:
A young red wine from the Caucasus.
6
uryadnik:
This is a Cossack NCO, a noncommissioned officer.
uryadnik:
This is a Cossack NCO, a noncommissioned officer.
a
I beg the reader’s pardon for putting Kazbich’s song into verse, when it had been relayed to me in prose—but such a habit is second nature to me.
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