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.
Other books
Blackening Song by Aimée & David Thurlo
Sheikh's Ex-Girlfriend (Khayyam Sheikh Series #1) by Sophia Lynn
Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah by Erin Jade Lange
On the Road: (Vagabonds Book 2) (New Adult Rock Star Romance) by Jamison, Jade C.
Oasis of Eden by deGrey, Genella
My Favorite Midlife Crisis by Toby Devens
And Then You Die by Iris Johansen
The Truant Officer by Derek Ciccone
A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry