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Pif Magazine
ISSN: 1094-2726
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The Collected Stories : Page 1, 2
"The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin" is an example of Pushkin mastering his prose style. The language is precise and unpretentious. The common title, encompassing five novellas, and feigned to be written by the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin, caters to the fashion of the time. Belkin is a provincial landowner, who in his boredom writes down the true stories that he heard during his life. A relative finds the tales after Belkin’s death and sends them to the publisher. The stories are touching and humorous, but never maudlin. "The Shot" remains my personal favorite. It is a story of malice and revenge, and how it destroys the life of a man despite his momentary satisfaction.
A few words on the translation itself. Reading the English translation of Pushkin’s poetry reminds me of seeing a sign-language interpreter at a Mozart concert some years ago. Both are a necessary evil, but they can in no way approximate the experience of Mozart’s music or Pushkin’s poetic gift. Pushkin’s poetry is absolute music to Russian ears, a celebration of language in all its pliability and rapture. His precision and his nimble control of the native tongue allow complete freedom of expression. His subtle choice of words or an inversion of sentence structure gives weightlessness and effervescence to his work.
Walter Arndt, one of Pushkin's translators, once quoted an Italian pun "Traduttore, traditore"- "Translator, traitor"- referring to the difficulties of translating poetry. It applies to the translation of prose as well, especially when the transition of material happens between languages so different in structure and nature of expression as Russian and English. The questions of faithful preservation of style and rhythm of the original are no less important. Even Pushkin writes in his notes: "A translator is the mail horse of enlightenment." Yet Paul Debreczeny manages to do a good job delivering Pushkin to the English-speaking reader. After a bumpy start (an understandable allowance for my readjustment to Pushkin in English), I quickly forgot I was not reading in Russian. I was reminded only by the translation in verse (ironically, by Walter Arndt), and a few times by a careless choice or an overlooked word repetition. Debreczeny stays faithful to Pushkin’s precision and deliberate simplicity of style, and the good decision was made to preserve in the text words indigenous to the Russian life of the time, such as sarafan, and gubernia. They add local flavor to the narrative without overburdening it.
Pushkin’s wild gambling, endless womanizing, and constant friction with authorities, crowned with the brilliant effervescence of his writing style and sharp wit, gained him many enemies and in the end cost him his life. Yet, just as Mozart, he was a genius despite himself. This collection of his works provides further testament of this genius.
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Lienna Silver was born in Russia and immigrated to the US in 1982. She is a writer and translator, and lives in LA with her husband and two children.