Russian Literature VIII(lg80) 125-149 @North-Holland Publishing Company

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND CONCRETISM IN EECHOV'S SHORT STORIES

DAVID MARTIN

1.

There are many ways in which eechov introduces el- ements of the physical world into the treatment of ab- stract ideas or emotions in his short stories. Whilst frequently they relate to questions of environment or setting, of interest here also is his elucidation of abstractions, including the heroes' psychological at- titudes and feelings, by means of comparisons drawn from the physical world. It is these comparisons which form the subject of the major part of this essay, which concerns itself exclusively with Cechov's use of figurative language in the general field of abstract and concrete.

(5echov's employment of abstract-to-concrete simile testifies to an overall tendency of style whereby of- ten complex abstract ideas are made the more readily assimilable to the reader by being reduced to physical terms which will easily impress themselves upon his imagination. This is the stylistic corollary to the writer's pragmatic approach to philosophic questions, whereby abstract theorizing is seen from the stand- point of everyday reality. For example - to return to the question of style - we remember Anan'ev's compari- son in Ogni of the thought processes of the untrained brain to a game of cat and mouse.' In such a. case, where the simile is introduced by one of (5echov's heroes, it is of relevance to characterization. An- other instance occurs when the would-be revolutionary in Rasskaa neizvestnogo Zetoveka likens the expected effect of his letter to Orlov to knocking on the lid of a coffin.2

However, techov is particularly skilful in his use of a type of abstract-to-concrete simile wherein the new element introduced in drawing the comparison takes the form of a small digression, an entertaining scene,

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the outline of a story or a detailed anecdote. This may be referred to as extended abstract-to-concrete simile and it occupies an important place among the various techniques by which techov contrives to com- municate to the reader abstract concepts of an other- wise elusive sort.

Included here are certain similes which, taken nar- rowly, present a concrete-to-concrete comparison, but where some abstract element nevertheless forms an ex- plicit part of their meaning. The following example, again from Ogni, will clarify this:

Myslil ja v odnom opredelennom napravlenii, no na vse- vozmoinye lady, i v &tom otnogenii pochodil na togo tonkogo gastronoma, kotoryj iz odnogo kartofelja umel prigotovljat' sotnju vkusnych bljud. (VII, 442-3)

In this instance one physical entity (ja) is likened to another (togo tonkogo gastronoma). yet the speaker, Anan'ev, uses the phrase v Atom otnoSenii, referring back to the verb myslit, thus modifying the degree to which he considers himself like the epicure and making the comparison refer specifically to his way of think- ing, no more. techov clearly has no interest in point- ing to any real physical or visible likeness between the two men. Of far greater importance is the abstract- to-concrete comparison between Anan'ev's dexterity of thought and the epicure's skilfully prepared dishes presented in the vehicle.3

Thus, although a simile might appear as concrete- to-concrete in form, its explicit justification and raison d'e^tre may consist exclusively of abstract con- siderations. Ivan Gromov's reflections in PaZata No.6 on the indifference towards suffering shown by people who in the line of duty see much of it, include a sim- ile of the abstract-to-concrete type structurally identical to the one quoted above from Ogni. Gromov thinks:

Ljudi, imej&ie slugebnoe, delovoe otnogenie k Euiomu stradaniju, naprimer, sud'i, policejskie, vrazi, s te- Eeniem vremeni, v silu privyski, zakaljajutsja do takoj stepeni, &o choteli by, da ne mogut otnosit'sja k svoim klientam inaze, kak formal'no: s &toj storony oni niEem ne otli;ajutsja ot mugika, kotoryj na zadvorkach relet baranov i teljat i ne zamezaet krovi. (VIII, 113)

Again, although there is a comparison here - virtually a literal one - between the professional people men- tioned and the peasant, the major simile contained in

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the passage juxtaposes the abstract concept of suffer- ing with the concrete entity: krov'. eechov character- istically chooses a vehicle which has immediate visual impact in conveying a somewhat more elevated idea.

The particular abstract significance of such fig- ures need not necessarily be given, as in the two in- stances above, prior to the introduction of the image. It is often explained fully only outside the simile proper, frequently immediately after it, as in the following case from Ariadna. Here the vivid and suc- cinct presentation of the image both initiates and provides a contrast to the discursive tone 'of the sub- sequent remarks. Given here also are some of the nar- rator's observations made before and after the appear- ance of the figure, for they are all relevant to it. He is travelling back to Russia:

Vsju dorogu pozemu-to ja voobragal Ariadnu beremennoj, i ona byla mne protivna, i vse %engEiny, kotorych ja videl v vagonach i na stancijach, kazalis' mne pozemu- to beremennymi i byli toze protivny i ialki. Ja nacho- dilsja v polozenii togo iadnogo, strastnogo korysto- ljubca, kotoryj vdrug otkryl by, Eta vse ego Eervoncy fal'givy. Cistye, gracioznye obrazy, kotorye tak dolgo lelejalo moe voobrazenie, podogrevaemoe ljubov'ju, moi plaw , nadeidy, moi vospominanija, vzgljady moi na ljubov' i ienHEinu, - vse &to teper' smejalos' nado mnoj i pokazyvalo mne jazyk. Ariadna, spragival ja s uiasom, bta molodaja, zamezatel'no krasivaja, intelli- gentnaja devugka, doE' senatora, v svjazi s takim za- ur jadnym, neinteresnym po8ljakom? (IX, 77)

Once more, the interest in looking upon the narrator as a miser is minimal; of far greater significance is the likening of money suddenly discovered to be coun- terfeit to his dashed hopes and expectations. The for- mal concrete-to-concrete comparison is of interest only as a means to introduce the abstract-to-concrete one. In this example the number of abstract ideas which are placed under the umbrella of the single ve- hicle vse ego Eervoncy is remarkable. The hero runs through them individually, like a miser counting notes, and discards each one in turn: Eistye, gracioznye ob- PaZy, p Zany, nadeHdy, Vospominanija, vzgZjady moi na Zjubov' i fenZEinu, Ariadna <...: Dta <...> intelli- gentnaja devuska. Like counterfeit notes, Ariadna's attractiveness is no more than superficial; she is: moZodaja, samebatel'no krasivaja.

Rich figurative language is to be found in Rasskaz neizvestnogo Eeloveka, especially in the hero's letter

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to Orlov (Chapter XII). The following passage repre- sents one of the comments on Orlov's character made in the letter:

11 . . . kogda vy glumites' nad idejami, kotorye jakoby vse

vam izvestny, to vy pochozi na dezertira, kotoryj po- zorno bezit s polja bitvy, no, Etoby zaglugit' styd, smeetsja nad vojnoj i nad chrabrost'ju. Cinizm zaglu- gaet boll." (VIII, 224-5)

This simile is most characteristic of Cechov. Intellec- tual courage and valour are presented in terms of their physical equivalent, or as near so as possible - for courage on the battlefield is still, strictly speaking, abstract, although it expresses itself tangibly - and mental cowardice is conveyed in a corresponding image taken from the real world, when Orlov is compared to a deserter in battle. Of course, there is no visible likeness between Orlov and a deserter and the phrase vy pochoii na dezertira is made to refer exclusively to his attitude of mind, in a manner reminiscent of previous examples. The passage which precedes the fig- ure is long and involved; it contains a curious mix- ture of imagery and ideas, and perhaps for this reason Cechov considered it necessary to add the brief, three- word comment: cinizm zaglus'aet bol', which is relevant to both tenor and vehicle alike and which neatly con- cludes his treatment of the two themes contained in the figure.

The example just discussed refers to Orlov's ironic attitude to life. Irony, indeed, constitutes a major aspect of his characterization. First introduced in Chapter I of the story, the theme of Orlov's irony is developed in Chapter III, where the narrator associ- ates it also with his employer's friends:

Ironija Orlova i ego druzej ne znala predelov i ne ZEadila nikogo i niEego. (VIII, 184)

In the first edition of the story4 this passage had contained an interesting simile:

Ironija Orlova i ego druzej ne enala predelov i po- dobno bol'nomu volku, kotoryj na svoem puti rvet vse, - i ljudej, i solomu, i kamni, ne Ifzadila nikogo i niEeg0. (VIII, 552)

The image is startling and attempts to correspond ex- actly to the tenor, so that the people, straw and stones of the vehicle balance the later phrase nikogo

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i niEeg0. Very representative of Cechov's incarnation of abstractions in physical im,ages, the figure has, nevertheless, the weakness of being obviously con- trived. The comparison of irony to a sick wolf has little that is natural or spontaneous about it and one is not surprised by Eechov's omission of it from the CoZZected Works, 1901'.

In describing the way in which the elder Poloznev, the town architect in Moja iizn', draws up plans for a house, Misail uses an interesting comparison:

Kogda emu zakazyvali plan, to on obyknovenno Eertil snarala zal i gostinuju; kak v byloe vremja institutki mogli tancovat' tol'ko ot peEki, tak i ego chudoie- stvennaja ideja mogla ischodit' i razvivat'sja tol'ko ot zala i gostinoj. (IX, 109)

The simile here is abstract-to-concrete, for an easily visualized situation is used to clarify an intellec- tual attitude, although, as usual, there are both ab- stract and concrete elements in tenor and vehicle. Misail chooses the simile in keeping with the satiri- cal attitude which characterizes his portrait of the architect in the story as a whole: the notion that the revered and ageing gentleman, whose face is like that of an "old Catholic organist", should in some way bring to mind schoolgirls, is amusing.

Poloznev's simile casts light on the nature of the general relationship between him and his father, a re- lationship which lies at the heart of the hero's de- cision to leave home and become a manual worker; and one of the chief functions of extended abstract-to- concrete simile in Cechov is to concentrate ina single image some of the major themes or elements of charac- terization contained in any given work as a whole: Samochin in Ariadna compares himself to a miser who discovers that his money is counterfeit, and by this image alone makes a comment of general relevance to the events of the story and the portrayal of the her- oine: in comparing Orlov to a deserter, the hero of Rasskaz neizvestnogo EeZoveka unites in one picture a facet of Orlov's character - irony - which has been presented to us in various ways throughout the story.

In the next example, from PaZata No.6, a colourful comparison appears by way of conclusion to the passage in Chapter III which analyses the growth of Ivan Dmi- tryE's mental illness. Given here also are some of the remarks preceding the figure:

On ne spa1 vse nozi naprolet, ogidaja aresta, no gromko

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chrapel i vzdychal, kak sonnyj, &oby chozjajke kaza- los', &o on spit; ved' esli ne spit, to, znaEit, ego murajut ugryzenija sovesti - kakaja ulika! Fakty i zdravaja logika ubeidali ego, &o vse &ti strachi - vzdor i psichopatija, Et0 v areste i tjur'me, esli vzgljanut' na delo pogire, v sug&osti, net nizego strarinogo, - byla by sovest' spokojna; no Eem umnee i logiznee on rassukdal, tern sil'nee i muEitel'nee stanovilas' dugevnaja trevoga. %Xo bylo pochoze nato, kak odin pustynnik chotel vyrubit' sebe mestezko v devstvennom lesu; Eem userdnee on rabotal toporom, tern gu%e i sil'nee razrastalsja les. (VIII, 114)

The simile here leads on naturally to the paragraph's final comment:

Ivan Dmitryz, v konce koncov, vidja, Eta &to bespo- lezno, sovsem brosil rassuidat' i ves' otdalsja ot- Eajaniju i strachu. (VIII, 114)

The externalization of the inner life is especially apparent here, where the abstract-to-concrete simile is twofold: Ivan Dmitryz's intelligent and logical reasoning is compared to the hermit's axe, whilst his state of mind is likened to the forest. The latter's relentless growth finds a further echo in eechov's next paragraph, where the hero's mental capacity to invent imaginary fears again appears as rich and pro- ductive as the fairy-tale forest in the anecdote:

Stranno, &o nikogda v drugoe vremja mysl' ego ne byla tak gibka i izobretatel'na, kak teper', kogda .on kagdyj den' vydumyval tysjazi raznoobraznych povodov k tomu, Etoby ser'ezno opasat'sja za svoju svobodu i Eest'. (VIII, 114)

A general function of Eechov's extended abstract- to-concrete similes consists, then, in the succinct, concentrated expression of important thematic and philosophic ideas developed at greater length outside them. An anecdote which occurs to Vasil'ev inPripadok after he and his friends have left the brothels sum- marizes his general impressions of the evenings, de- scribed to us over the preceding five chapters; he finds his impressions incompatible with his friends' intellectual interests:

"Pri Eem tut ich gumannost', medicina, Hivopis'? Nauki, iskusstva i vozvygennye Euvstva &tich dugegubov napominajut mne salo v odnom anekdote. Dva razbojnika

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zarezali v lesu nigzego; stali delit' mezdu soboju odezdu i nagli v sumke kusok svinogo sala. 'OEen' kstati, - skazal odin iz nich, - davaj zakusim'. - f&o ty, kak moino? - uZasnulsja drugoj. - Razve ty zabyl, Eta segodnja sreda?' I ne stali est'. Oni, zarezavgi Eeloveka, vy.Gli iz lesu s uverennost'ju, Et.0 oni postniki. Tak i kti, kupivgi ZengEin, idut i dumajut teper', Eta oni chudogniki i uzenye..." (VII,187)

This anecdote is, however, introduced into the story with a degree of contrivance, for it seems out of character that Vasil'ev, at a moment of anger and dis- tress, should go to the lengths of recounting an anec- dote to himself in full, leaving out none of the de- tails, as if someone were listening. In fact, one has the impression that it is not so much Vasil'ev who is reciting an anecdote to himself, as Eechov who is tell- ing it to his readers. The hero's reflections resemble the conventional dramatic monologue in the theatre, where people also express themselves with a coherence and respect for detail not found in real life except in communication with others. Yet the effect of the figurative comparison made by the hero is strong and one accepts the unnaturalness of its presentation for the sake of the interest it provides. Even the wood- land scene in the anecdote strikes one efficaciously against the reality of a snow-covered town.

A further feature of the passage quoted, a feature which frequently occurs in the stories, is the close association between the elevated and the mundane. The likening of lofty notions and feelings to a piece of pork fat, apart from its justification in context, re- flects a general technique of the writer's, where the exalted and ideal is seen in terms of the most prosaic aspects of the concrete world. Not only is the latter of greater effect as a stimulus to the imagination, but the contrast itself between high and low is forc- ible.

Another use of contrast is provided after the close of the passage in question. It has been pointed out that the anecdote, in the detailed and discursive form in which Eechov there presents it, scarcely reflects the natural processes of thought, which should be more spontaneous and nimble in a man experiencing feelings such as Vasil'ev's. The passage seems too calm and re- flective. Perhaps for this reason Eechov begins his next paragraph in a style specifically chosen for its contrast. The opening words are:

- Poslugajte vy! - skazal on serdito i rezko. - ZaEem

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vy sjuda chodite? Neuzeli, neugeli vy ne ponimaete, kak &to uzasno? (VII, 187)

In the story Supruga we are given many of Nikolaj Evgrafyz's reflections concerning his wife. At one point, we read that he:

. . . pomnil, kak u otca v derevne, byvalo, so dvora v dom nezajanno vletala ptica i nazinala neistovo bit'sja o stekla i oprokidyvat' vegzi, tak i bta ZenGina, iz sovergenno Eugdoj emu sredy, vletela v ego Zizn' i proizvela v nej nastojaZEij razgrom. (IX, 9)

ByvaZo here shows that the hero is recalling more than one occasion, but it will be easier to talk in terms of only one bird.

Although in one respect two concrete phenomena are compared, the bird and the woman, nevertheless, the abstract elements are so central to the meaning of the figure that it should be considered as abstract-to- concrete. The bird would fly into the father's house from the yard; the woman flew into the hero's life "iz ( . ..> EuHdoj emu sredy". The bird would knock over concrete objects, whereas the nastoja8bij razgrom re- ferred to in the tenor stands rather for the mental and spiritual suffering resulting from life with Ol’ga Dmitrievna. Eechov follows the comparison with an ana- lytical explanation of what this suffering entails, thus providing a characteristic contrast in tone and style. Although there are physical aspects to this ex- planation, these never become dominant and certainly do not suggest that the havoc mentioned in the tenor is to be understood in anything but an abstract or psychological sense. The phrase nastoja8Eij razgrom is, therefore, itself metaphorical.

After this simile we read:

L&ie gody zizni protekli, kak v adu, nadeidy na szast'e razbity i osmejany, zdorov'ja net, v komnatach ego poglaja kokoto&aja obstanovka, a iz desjati tysjaz, kotorye on zarabatyvaet egegodno, on nikak ne soberet- sja poslat' svoej materi-popad'e chotja by desjat' rub- ld , i t&e dolien po vekseljam tysjaE pjatnadcat'. (IX, 9)

Eechov continues the juxtaposition of physical and psychological havoc until the close of the paragraph, for he now introduces another figurative comparison of relevance to it:

Kazalos', esli by v ego kvartire Lila gajka razbojnikov,

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to i togda by gizn' ego ne byla tak beznadegno, nepo- pravimo razrugena, kak pri etoj zengzine. (IX, 9)

The comparison in Supruga between the hero's wife and a stray bird is introduced into the narrative in the form of a recollection. Such a technique is often used by Cechov in the presentation of similes of a specific type, where the vehicle of a comparison that is about to be made is introduced into the narrative to no ostensibly figurative purpose at all, the latter becoming apparent only at a later stage, often follow- ing upon phrases such as tak i or toEno tak. The ex- ample from Supruga illustrates this. Another instance is found in Dom s mezoninom. Again, the hero, who is talking about Lida, introduces a recollection from his past, only at the end turning it into a figurative comparison:

Ja by1 ej ne simpatizen. Ona ne ljubila menja za to, Eta ja pejzazist i v svoich kartinach ne izobraiaju narodnych n&d i Eta ja, kak ej kazalos', by1 ravno- d&en k tomu, vo rto ona tak krepko verila. Pomnitsja, kogda ja echal po beregu Bajkala, mne vstretilas' de- vugka burjatka, v rubache i v gtanach iz sinej daby, verchom na logadi; ja sprosil u nee, ne prodast li ona mne svoju trubku, i, poka my govorili, ona s prezre- niem smotrela na moe evropejskoe lice i na moju Lljapu, i v odnu minutu ej nadoelo govorit' so mnoj, ona gik- nula i poskakala pro;'. I Lida to&o tak z'e prezirala vo mne Euiogo. (IX, 90)

It could be argued that the comparison contained in the passage quoted is not figurative, but literal. It is drawn between two girls and perhaps fails, then, to comply with the requirement - to quote at least one writer on the subject - that, for a comparison to be figurative, the two things compared must be "different in kind".6 However, although the girls are compared on the basis of their similar feelings of despisal to- wards the narrator, the drift and point of the com- parison rests not in any identity of sex, but in the utter lack of similarity between the two women in all other respects, except for the common contempt in which they hold the hero.

Lida is a typical member of the European intelli- gentsia. Earlier in the same chapter (Chapter II) Ce- chov had referred to:

I?ta tonkaja, krasivaja, neizmenno strogaja devugka s malen'kim, izjagEn0 0ZerEennym rtom. (IX, 90)

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This picture of her contrasts sharply with the imageof the native Buryat girl. The latter, moreover, is present- ed to us in a markedly visual manner. We see her dark blue clothes, the horse she rides, her pipe; her sud- den departure is dramatic and vivid. There is little of this immediacy and vigour in the depiction of Lida with which the figurative image is juxtaposed. Rather, the succession of details of external appearance found in the description of the native girl corresponds to a set of intellectual considerations and political phil- osophies which we associate with Lida and to which brief allusion is made at the start of the passage quoted: "Ona ne ljubila menja za to, Eto ja (...) ne izobrasaju narodnych nuFd . ..".

Similarly, the feeling of contempt experienced by the Buryat girl is occasioned exclusively by the nar- rator's appearance. She despises his European face and hat, that is, she reacts adversely specifically to those aspects of the hero's person to which Lida would feel indifference or even, perhaps, attraction.

Again, Lida's feelings of contempt are based not on externals, but on what she feels to be the hero's in- tellectual and political inadequacies, and when he says I "Lida toEno tak Ze prezirala vo mne EuZogo", he is making a figurative comparison, for the girls dif- fer not only in type but, more importantly, in respect of the considerations upon which their feeling of dis- like is founded. The word Euiogo has a completely dif- ferent significance in each case, being used with ref- erence to externals in the case of the Buryat, and to abstract ideas in that of Lida.

In keeping with this, (5echov emphasizes in his con- tinuation of the passage the notion of inward, intel- lectual animosity which we associate with the rela- tionship between Lida and the narrator:

Vnehim obrazom ona nikak ne vyraiala svoego neraspo- logenija ko mne, no ja Euvstvoval ego i, sidja na nihej stupeni terrasy, ispytyval razdragenie . . . (IX, 90)

The use of the heroes' recollections in intro- ducing similes into the narrative, such as we find in the instances from Supruga and Dom s mezoninom dis- cussed above, allows the writer to present scenes and themes which contrast with and vary the basic subject matter of the works concerned. This function may also be performed by the device of allusion, which is par- ticularly effective as part of a figurative compari- son.

In, for example, his letter to Orlov in Rasskaz

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neizvestnogo EeZoveka, the narrator employs a refer- ence to a work by Dostoevskij in upbraiding his em- ployer for his scorn of goodness and truth:

"V kakoj-to povesti Dostoevskogo starik topzet nogami portret svoej ljubimoj dozeri, potomu zto on pered neju neprav, a vy gadko i poglovato posmeivaetes' nad idejami dobra i pravdy, potomu Eta &e ne v silach vernut'sja k nim". (VIII, 225)

Again, the essentially visual nature of the vehicle (topzet nogami portret) is contrasted with the spiri- tual concepts of the tenor (posmeivaetes' nad idejami dobra i pravdy). The hero is no longer interested in maintaining his pose as a servant, and the highly lit- erary nature of his letter in general and, perhaps, this rhetorically structured allusion to Dostoevskij in particular, show a desire on his part to cast off his servant's garb as effectively as possible and re- veal himself as a man of some education and culture.

Attention has been drawn above to similes having, as it were, a preface which is apparently non-figurat- ive until the nature of the comparison is made evi- dent. An interesting variation of the technique is found at the close of Duei!', where a simile is intro- duced employing such a preface, but one which, unlike what we find in the above instances, actually draws upon the real events of the story. Laevskij watches as von Koren is rowed out towards the waiting steam- ship:

"Lodku brosaet nazad, - dumal on, - delaet ona dva gaga vpered i gag nazad, no grebcy uprjamy, magut ne- utomimo veslami i ne bojatsja vysokich voln. Lodka idet vse vpered i vpered, vot uge ee i ne vidno, a pojdet s polzasa i grebcy jasno uvidjat parochodnye ogni, a Perez Eas budut uge u parochodnogo trapa. Tak

". . i v zizni.,. V poiskach za pravdoj ljudi delajut dva s'aga vpered, gag nazad. Stradanija, ogibki i skuka zizni brosajut ich nazad, no zaida pravdy i uprjamaja volja gonjat vpered i vpered. I kto znaet? Byt' moz'et, doplyvut do nastojagzej pravdy..." (VII, 429)

Where most often the tenor of a simile bears upon some aspect or character of the story in which it oc- curs, the vehicle bringing in an element alien to the work as a whole, the above example modifies this prac- tice without completely reversing it: the vehicle is represented by the boat on the sea, whereas Laevskij's thoughts on truth (the tenor) do contain a general

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comment on the events of the story and on the philo- sophic problems which it raises. They re-echo a phrase used repeatedly in the final chapter: "Nikto ne znaet nastojaSEej pravdy".

The manner in which eechov comes to introduce this comparison in DueZ' is of interest. As has just been mentioned, the philosophic idea about which it re- volves is put forward earlier in the chapter, for it is von Koren who remarks, in his conciliatory speech to Laevskij, on the notion that no one knows the real truth, and Laevskij repeats the sentiment.'

The thought forms the central theme of the chapter and Eechov deliberately associates it more and more closely with the description of the sea and rough weather, in preparation for the final image where they are fused. The phrase occurs when the scientist, like a philosopher making ready for his search after truth, takes his place in the boat before his departure across the weather-tossed sea to the steamship, and Laevskij again thinks: "Nikto ne znaet nastojaSEej pravdy" (VII, 429).

The narrative continues with the picture of von Karen's dangerous journey across the water. Against this background the repetitive thought occurs once more to Laevskij, accompanied this time by a reference to the anguish in the hero's gaze, and the cause of this anguish is not made clear: the perilous sea or man's ignorance of truth. The image is also prefigured here in the mention of the boat's slow progress, three saieni forward, two back:

Lodka bojko obognula pristan' i vygla na prostor. Ona iszezla v volnach, no totEas se iz glubokoj jamy skol'znula na vysokij cholm, tak Eta mosno bylo raz- liEit' i ljudej, i daze vesla. Lodka progla sageni tri, i ee otbrosilo nazad sazeni na dve.

- Pigi! - kriknul Samojlenko. - Ponesla tebja ne- legkaja v takuju pogodu!

"Da, nikto ne znaet nastoja&?ej pravdy..." - dumal Laevskij, s toskoju gljadja na bespokojnoe temnoe more. (VII, 429)

Laevskij's certainty, discussed earlier as it is ex- pressed in the story's final image - that the small boat will eventually reach the steamship - is not echoed by any similar assurance of success in the search for truth. Nevertheless, the words with which his thoughts are brought to an end are optimistic and well complement the constant use of the phrase about the inaccessibility of truth. For against those words

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we read: "I kto znaet? Byt'moiet, doplyvut do nasto- ja.%liej pravdy...".

As in an example from Supruga formerly discussed, techov emphasizes the link between the two sides of the comparison by employing metaphorically in the tenor a key word of literal significance to the ve- hicle. In the example from Supruga the word was vZe- teZa (of the stray bird and the wife); here it is doplyvut.

The discussion of the part played by figurative language in the relationship between abstract or psy- chological and concrete phenomena in eechov now con- tinues with reference to a stylistic technique not found in his works with quite as great a frequency as simile, but which nevertheless deserves attention as incorporating the most extreme illustrations of the present general theme.

The device in question occurs when an abstract con- cept or an emotion is treated in such a way as to ap- pear to be invested with physical properties. In its simplest, admittedly non-figurative form, this may in- volve the depiction of an emotion which causes a di- rect, physical reaction in the person experiencing it. Such is the case in Ariadna, where an exaggerated physical manifestation of the hero's jealousy, in con- junction with a graphic reference to those who wit- nessed it, is used to convey the strength of his feel- ings. Samochin is leaving Rome in the train; his thoughts turn to the heroine of the story:

. . . to i delo prichodilo na pamjat',kak obol'stitel'na ona byla segodnja v svoej bluze i s raspug;ennymi vo- losami, i takaja sil'naja revnost' vdrug ovladela mnoj, Eta ja vskakival ot duzevnoj boli, i sosedi moi smotre- li na menja s udivleniem i daze strachom. (IX, 77)

Another instance of the device occurs in DueZ', where the sound of NadeZda Fedorovna swallowing kiseZ' gives rise in Laevskij to

takaja tjazelaja nenavist', &o u nego daze zazesalas' golova. (VIII, 338)

In the same story Laevskij's thoughts are said to have physical results:

. . . neveselye, bespoleznye mysli megali spat' i, kaza-

138 David Martin

los', usilivali duchotu i mrak nozi . ..'I (VIII, 328)

It is this "confusion" of emotional and physical that renders the technique figurative, as does its close affinity with abstract-to-concrete metaphor and per- sonification, which will be investigated at a later stage in this essay.

Originality and audacity of expression are marked features of cechov's prose. "derzkie tropy".*

Berkovskij talks of his In an instance from Imeniny a close

association between the emotions and the bodily state are again present, as in the above examples, but it is of a somewhat bolder sort than that found there. Towards the end of the story, before the birth of the child, Cechov describes Ol'ga's emotional distress:

Ona dumala, Eta nogi nojut i vsemu ee telu neudobno ottogo, &o u nee naprjagena duga. (VII, 164)

Here the relationship which Ol'ga conceives to exist between soul and body is not of a conventional type. The soul is invested with the ability to cause bodily symptoms of a quite specific kind. It acquires a cer- tain physical quality, its state being conveyed to the reader in concrete terms so that he may appreciate it the more readily.

In another story which, like Ariadna, presents us with the reflections of the central character about the heroine as he travels in a railway carriage, the physical manifestation of emotion is made even more specific in a manner especially characteristic of Eechov. Anan'ev (Ogni) first of all recounts how in the train he had realized that he had committed an act of evil equal to murder. Contemplating his seduc- tion of KisoEka he tries to assuage his feelings by applying his philosophy of pessimism to the situation. He attempts to persuade himself that all is vanity, that her distress is nothing compared with death, and so forth. It is at this point that he makes the re- mark that is of relevance to the present theme, when he says:

"V ruke, kotoruju pocelovala Kisozka, bylo o%dEenie toski . .." (VII, 463)

Logically, of course, the hero's statement cannot be true. He did not experience an emotion as such in his hand. The remark refers rather to a subjective atti- tude of mind. Yet Anan'ev's assertion that he did feel distress specifically in the hand gains effect

SimiZe and Concretism in Cechov's Short Stories 139

because the emotion that he wishes to describe is lent in this way a concrete and concentrated quality in to- tal contrast to the amorphous nature and feeble result of his attempt to escape from the situation in philos- ophy . Whilst the latter remains formless and abstract, the hero's distress at what has happened and his feel- ing for KisoEka acquire a sharply felt, physical real- ity.

In Rasskaz neizvestnogo EeZoveka a very different emotion, one of happiness, shows itself in the hands of the central female character in a manner reminis- cent of the above example. We read of Zinaida Fedor- ovna:

Ot izbytka srast'ja ona krepko szimala sebe ruki . . . (VIII, 189)

Although one cannot maintain that this remark is sty- listically original in itself, in the first edition of the work9 the story at this point continued with a further, rather less conventional "materialization" of the heroine's emotion:

. . . to&o ona byla v otzajanii, Eta ee malen'koe telo ne moget vmestit' v sebe takogo bol'gogo, neob"jat- nogo szast'ja. (VIII, 533)

The instance well expresses the strength of Zinaida Fedorovna's feeling and one can only regret that Ce- chov omitted it in the CoZlected Works lo edition of the story.

One may compare this physical representation of happiness with a further instance found in Chapter XII of Moja .Zizn', where Misail says of Ivan Ceprakov:

On provozal Ma& voschigzennymi glazami, spragival, &o ja teper' em za obedom, i na ego togzem, nekrasi- vom lice pojavljalos' grustnoe i sladkoe vyragenie, i on Zevelil pal'cami, to&o osjazal moe szast'e. (IX, 158)

The notion expressed here that Ceprakov should be able to touch.the hero's happiness with his fingers makes a valuable contribution to the depiction of his child- ish and unpleasant nature, the juxtaposition of his fingers with Poloznev's personal feelings being par- ticularly disgusting.

The intensity and immediacy of expression which such a device is capable of producing is especially noticeable in an instance from Volodja bol'3o.j i Vo- Zodja malen'kij. Here, however, it is not an emotion

140 David Martin

as such that is made to acquire physical properties, as will be seen. The passage in question relates to the depiction of the relationship between Sof'ja L'vovna and Vladimir MichajlyE and occurs near the end of the story:

A kogda on sobralsja uchodit', ona sprazivala ego strastnym golosom: - Kogda? Segodnja? Gde? I ona protjanula k ego rtu obe ruki, kak by selaja schvatit' otvet daze rukami. (VIII, 261)

The heroine gives the impression of wanting to grasp the answer to her question even with her hands: again, although it is this answer which by implication is in- vested with a potentially material quality, the device is used primarily to convey the depth of her feeling. The latter shows itself in a physical movement of the arm at a time when physical action can be of no help to her, and her predicament becomes pathetic.

Whilst the major part of instances involving the device discussed depict heightened emotion, it is also effective - perhaps not surprisingly - in describing physical states. The hero of Rasskaz neizvestnogo Se- toveka, for example, mentions how the onset of illness has given his thoughts "shadows":

. . . v mysljach bylo kakoe-to razdvoenie,kogda kaget- sja, 8to za kazdoju mysl'ju v mozgu dvigetsja ee ten'. (VIII, 223)

His thoughts are given solidity - only solid objects cast shadows - and this adds to the sense of heaviness and sluggishness present in the opening words of the sentence from which the quotation is taken:

Tjazeluju golovu klonilo k stolu . . . (VIII, 223)'l

It frequently happens that the general technique described in the preceding paragraphs either is intro- duced by or employs the figures of simile, metaphor or personification.

In this connexion a sentence in Krasavicy is of some interest. The narrator describes his first glance at one of the heroines, Maga, in the following way:

Sadjas' za stol, ja vzgljanul v lice devugki, poda- vavgej mne stakan, i vdrug po&.wstvoval, Eta to&o veter probegal po moej duge i sdunul s nee vse vpe- Eatlenija dnja s ich skukoj i pyl'ju. (VII, 132)

SimiZe and Concretism in Cechov's Short Stories 141

Whilst veter is used here in a figurative sense, in a simile, as are the verbs dependent upon it (probeSal, sdunul), representing the effect that the girl has upon the narrator, it is notable that they should be used in conjunction with a reference to the narrator's soul and its abstract impressions. This creates the illusion of inter-action, as it were on one plane, be- tween elements of the physical world and his emotions. The forcefulness of the remark is generated by this most unusual juxtaposition of concrete and abstract. Were the figurative use of veter, of probeia2 (itself a personification when used of the wind) and of sdunuZ complemented by a similar likening of the narrator's soul and its impressions to objects of the physical world - that is, in an ordinary extended simile - then much of the effect of the juxtaposition would be lost.

An instance characteristic of Cechov's use of the abstract-to-concrete metaphor occurs in IonyE, where the concrete phenomenon suggested by the word kusoEek is used in reference to an insistent thought of the hero's, which appears as an obstacle to his spiritual ease. The instance also employs personification and concerns Starcev's reflections on marriage:

. . . na duge bylo tumanno, no radostno, teplo, i v to Ze vremja v golove kakoj-to cholodnyj, tjazelyj kuso:ek rassugdal:

"Ostanovis', poka ne pozdno! Para li ona tebe? Ona izbalovana, kaprizna, spit do dvuch zasov, a ty d'ja& kovskij syn, zemskij vraz . .."

"Nu, Eta z? - dumal on, - I pust"'. "K tomu Ze, esli ty geniz'sja na nej, - prodolial

kusozek, - to ee rodnja aastavit tebja brosit' zemsku- ju slugbu i lit' v gorode". (IX, 295)

Other metaphoric phrases of the abstract-to-con- crete type include: "vyrosla celaja gora lsi" (DueZ'- VII, 388); "pachnulo <...> sEast'em" (Moja iizn' - IX, 115); "voorusilis' ironiseskim otnogeniem k Zizni" (Rasskaz neizvestnogo EeZoveka - VIII, 225); "pospezi- li <... > postavit' ee" v ramki" (ibid. - VIII, 225).

Most typical, however, of the writer are those il- lustrations of abstract-to-concrete metaphor which, unlike those listed above, owe little to literary tra- dition. In Step’ we read of Fr.Christofor:

MolEa, on dumal o Eem-to chorogem i veselom, i dobraja, blagodu&aja ulybka zastyla na ego lice. Kazalos', Eta i chorogaja, veselaja mysl' zastyla v ego mozgu ot Zary . . . (VII, 24)

142 David Martin

The second use of the verb zastyt' here (in reference to the priest's thought) is quite original when asso- ciated with heat for, whilst the verb is used fre- quently to suggest a lowering of temperature, it is not usual for anything to be described as setting from heat. Later in the story (Chapter II) Cechov draws again upon this metaphor: the same "jolly thought" is once more closely linked to the physical world, inas- much as it is affected by Fr.Christofor's drinking and eating, the idea being further developed in personifi- cation (zaprosi Zas'). The travellers rest by a brook:

Chorogaja, veselaja mysl', zastyv&aja ot Zary v mozgu o.Christofora, posle togo, kak on napilsja vody i s"e1 odno pezenoe jajco, zaprosilas' nar&u. (VII, 26)

The intellectual or emotional is treated in these examples as undergoing a development literally pos- sible only in the physical world. The processes of the latter, which are familiar, immediate and tangible to us, help to explain and elucidate the abstraction. In the first published version of Moja iizn'13 Cechov wrote the following of Ceprakova, omitting it in the second edition14 of the work:

Duga, kazalos', zaplyla po nej Zirom i ugasala malo- pomalu, no instinkty e%e byli zivy .,. (IX, 567)

There is no explanation in literal terms as to what is meant by "d&a <... > zaplyla po nej Hiram". The single physical image encompasses a large number of intellectual attitudes, too complicated and unwieldy to describe by name or in detail. The subsequent meta- phoric use of the verb ugasaZa seems somewhat incon- gruous in its context (is the iir on fire?), but this is mitigated by the familiarity of its use in such a way and, therefore, its non-figurative quality.

In the speech of a character, the unusual nature of such metaphors becomes indicative of personality. Such is the case with LyseviE's enthusiastic exalta- tion of Maupassant's writings (Bab'e carstvo):

MjagEajSie, neinejzie dvizenija dugi smenjajutsja sil'nymi, burnymi o&%gEenijami, vaga duga to&o pod davleniem soroka tysjaz atmosfer obragzaetsja v ni& tognejgij kusozek kakogo-to ve%estva neopredelenno- go9 rozovatogo cveta, kotoroe, kak mne kaketsja,esli by mo&o bylo polosit' ego na jazyk, dalo by terpkij, sladostrastnyj vkus. (VIII, 322)

Simile and Concretism in ?echov’s Short Stories 143

The simile here (toEno pod davleniem soroka tysjaE at- mosfer) is used to introduce the exaggerated metaphor concerning the kusoEek kakogo-to ve3Zestva. The ex- otic quality of the figurative comparison as well as the impossibility of gaining a clear idea of what Ly- seviE actually means to express by it add to his char- acterization as a vain and ebullient "lover of the arts".

In Rasskaz neizvestnogo ZeZoveka the servant's de- sire to impress his employer, Orlov, with the eru- dition and rhetorical composition of his letter prompts him to use an abstract-to-concrete metaphor drawn from the Old Testament:

"Otrego ja ran'ge vremeni oslabel i upal, ob"jasnit' ne trudno. Ja, podobno biblejskomu silazu, podnjal na sebja Gazski vorota, ztoby otnesti ich na verginu m-y , no tol'ko kogda uie iznemog, kogda vo mne nave- ki pogasli molodost' i zdorov'e, ja zametil,Eto Qti vo- rota mne ne po plezami&o ja obmanul sebja". (VIII, 224)

The "Gates of Gaza" which were too much for him to carry are mentioned in reference to his revolutionary activities and intentions in coming to work for Orlov.

A number of the examples presented have involved instances of personification. This figurative device is well illustrated in CSechov's works and its use in- cludes the expression of abstract ideas. Some fre- quently found examples of this, however, possess little stylistic originality, especially where the writer personifies in a traditional manner various aspects of the spiritual or emotional life of his heroes. Listed briefly here is a selection of instances: "Eta-to v duge gepnulo emu" (Step' - VII, 110); "moja sovest' gepnula mne" (Ogni - VII, 453); "radost' govorila ej" (PosZe teatra - VIII, 78); "strach podskazal emu" (PaZata No.6 - VIII, 115); "to&o ona videla smert', svoju izbavitel'nicu, i Septalas' s nej" (Skripka Rot- .Zil ‘da - VIII, 337).

Of greater interest and originality are instances of a more complex personification of abstract ideas found in a number of stories, among them Rasskaz neiz- vestnogo EeZoveka, Zena and Palata No.6. In the first of these works the hero, again in his letter, remarks to Orlov:

II . . . va8a duga sprjatalas' v chalat . ..I'

Later he writes:

(VIII, 224)

II . . . sderzannaja, pripugnutaja mysl' ne smeet prygnut'

144 David Martin

Perez tot palisadnik, kotoryj vy postavili ej . ..I' (VIII, 225)

Such instances indeed show a conscious effort on the letter writer's part to fulfill the wish implied at the beginning of the letter, that it should be "kras- noreEiv0, sil'no i stra&o" (VIII, 223).

In Zena the narrator personifies his own conscience in the form of a second, imaginary presence in his bedroom:

- Vy kamer-junker? - sprosil menja kto-to na ucho. Ozen' prijatno. No vse-taki vy gadina. (VIII, 31)

In PaZata No.6 we find the memorable image with which this sentence ends; it refers to Gromov's mental illness:

Za nim s laem gnalis' sobaki, kriral gde-to pozadi m&k, v ugach svistel vozduch, i Ivanu Dmitryru kazalos', Et0 nasilie vsego mira skopilos' za ego spinoj i gonitsja za nim. (VIII, 115)

The verb kazalos' appears in a number of the ex- amples discussed in the present essay and needs some comment. In the above example from PaZata No.6, for instance, the word kazalos' is not, of course, to be taken literally, in the sense that Ivan DmitryE was really under the impression that he was being chased by the combined forces of violence throughout the world; we are not to conclude that he was experiencing fantastic hallucinations, however effectively that might contribute to the depiction of his mental ill- ness. Rather, kazatos' simply establishes the personi- fication as one of Gromov's own making, although he would not, perhaps, formulate it to himself as ex- plicitly as it is given in the text." In a case such as this kazuZos' has, furthermore, a role in the sen- tence as a whole approximate to that played by sZovno, to&o and so forth in a formal simile. In the follow- ing instance from Step', for example, a comparison is made between a human voice and personified stupidity. Whilst both sides of the comparison are stated (as in simile), it would be wrong to claim that we have here a simile in the normal sense:

'*Naza matugka Rasija vsemu svetu ga-la-va!" - zapel vdrug dikim golosom Kirjucha, poperchnulsja i umolk. Stepnoe echo podchvatilo ego golos, poneslo i, kaza- los', po stepi na tjazelych kolesach pokatila sama glupost'. (VII, 85)'6

Simile and Coneretism in Cechov's Short Stories 145

There is a notable instance in Duel' of the per- sonification of an abstraction which is as stylistical- ly novel as LyseviE's metaphor in Bab'e carstvo, dis- cussed above. KazaZos' is again used. In Chapter XIV Nadezda Fedorovna is troubled by unpleasant memories of her relationship with AEmianov and Kirilin, and we read that:

Ej kazalos', Eta vse nechorogie vospominanija vygli iz ee golovy i idut v potemkach rjadom s nej i tja- zelo dygat . . . (VII, 393)

Here kazaZos' prepares the way for the strange figurat- ive comparison which is to follow. Again, as in the example previously taken from PaZata No.6, we should not take the word as meaning that the heroine really was under the impression that her memories were walk- ing along beside her. However, it is just such an am- biguous element and sense of reality present in per- sonification of this kind, involving kazaLos', that ensures its forcefulness and distinguishes it from simile proper. If the same personification were intro- duced by a formal simile of normal construction, it would be clumsy, literary in a negative sense and lacking in immediacy. It is, incidentally, interesting that such a colourful and imaginative idea, so typical of Eechov's style, should be presented as emanating not from him as author or narrator, but from his char- acter, Nadezda Fedorovna, not a person of great im- agination as shown in the story as a whole. The ex- ample epitomizes the element of style under discussion, for what might have been a vague and inexpressive ref- erence to the workings of the heroine's mind is set aside in favour of a tangible, physical representation of her thoughts and feelings in a manner reminiscent of religious personifications of evil.

A similarly graphic representation of emotion such as we have in the preceding example had already been used by Cechov in the first edition of Imeniny. " Ol'ga Michajlovna is talking to a medical student who repeatedly refuses her offer of food:

- No ved' vy chotite est'? - sprosila Ol'ga Michaj- lovna grubym i zestkim golosom, neterpelivo i s do- sadoj - &to vyglo u nee nezajanno, i vdrug, to&o kusok s dosady otorvalsja v grudi i vysko&l narugu sam . . . (VII, 150, 534)

In the original text the word sam was followed by a semi-colon.

146 David Martin

Here a rather similar personification to that just discussed is introduced by means of the conjunction to&o with the construction found in a simile proper. This carries with it stylistic disadvantages. The el- ement of immediacy described above is lost and re- placed by the conventional and markedly literary con- struction mentioned. Moreover, the phrase ej kazalos' in the earlier passage from DueZ' associated the gro- tesque personification directly with the heroine's state of mind; it was shown as stemming from it. Here the comparison is given as the author's own and is un- justifiable exaggerated and out of place. One might add that, where the example from DueZ' well expresses NadeHda Fedorovna's nervous state of mind, the attempt to do the same in Imeniny fails because of its obvi- ous incongruity with the prosaic setting of an ordi- nary conversation in a drawing-room. This difficulty is not present in DueZ', where a dark and deserted street forms a suitable background for such exagger- ated language. Eechov omitted the part beginning with toEno in the quoted example from the second'* and sub- sequent editions of Imeniny.

Many passages discussed above - and the last not least - bear witness to (Sechov's liking for the ener- getic, vigorous and vivid, in contrast to the "grey" or tedious atmosphere of his works to which critics have traditionally yet often unjustifiable sought to draw our attention. His personifications of the given type not only elucidate abstractions in an intellec- tual sense; they also lend movement to the narrative. This is certainly the dominant impression gained from a particular passage in Bab'e carstvo. The reference is to Anna Akimovna:

A kogda ona umyvalas', ostatok davnego detskogo &IV- stva, - radost', Eta segodnja Rozdestvo, vdrug gevel'- nulas' v ee grudi, i posle &tog0 stalo legko, svobodno i Eisto na d&e, kak budto i duga umylas' ili okunulas' v belyj sneg. (VIII, 307)

In this example the figurative comparison enables Eechov to use an abstract-to-concrete personification of a striking, but not too exaggerated kind. It is in- teresting that the verb employed here (umyZas') repre- sents a repetition, but for the change of aspect, of the verb used quite literally slightly earlier in the text. The notion that the soul should itself be ca- pable of washing or plunging into snow provides a mem- orable illustration of the technique investigated.

The aim of this essay has been to describe some of

SimiZe and Concretism in ?echov's Short Stories 147

the more notable manifestations of a close association found in eechov's stories between the concrete and the abstract, between the physical and the emotional or psychological; to demonstrate his ability forcecully to convey the latter in terms of the former; and to illustrate his use of figurative language in this con- nexion. This has also provided the opportunity of presenting some of the more stylistically exotic, even grotesque elements of his prose, elements which put us in mind of Gorkij's famous comment on cechov's prose style, made to the writer albeit in a different con- text: "Vy . . . ubivaete realizm". I3

University CoZlege of Swansea

148 David Martin

NOTES

1. VII, 464. References to volume and page given in the notes or following upon quotations from Eechov's works are made ac- cording to: PoZnoe sobranie soEinenij i pisem A.P.cechova, 20 ~01s. (Moskva 1944-51).

2. VIII, 223-4. 3. In this essay the term tenor will be used to refer to the

principal subject of a comparison, and vehicle to refer to the element introduced figuratively into the narrative in or- der to draw the comparison. The terms were first proposed and described by I.A.Richards, The Philosophy of Rhetoric, (New York/London 19361, 99 ff.

4. Russkaja mysl', 2, 3 (February, March 1893). 5. The term Collected Works is used in reference to: A.P. Ee-

chov, Sobranie sozinenij v desjati tomach (S.Peterburg 1899- 1901), published by A.F.Marks.

6. A.Bain, English Composition and Rhetoric, Part First (London 1887), 138.

7. VII, 427. 8. N.Berkovskij, "Eechov. Ot rasskazov i povestej k dramaturgii",

Russkaja Ziteratura, 4 (1965), 60. Berkovskij's reference is specifically to metaphors of natural description in Step'. Examples presented in this essay well justify Berkovskij's choice of epithet.

9. See (4) above. 10. See (5) above. 11. A device allied to the one discussed was used by Eechov in

the first edition of Rasskaz neizvestnogo EeZoveka (see note 4 above). The instance does not involve an abstraction, but the reference here to sound is clearly similar in effect; in Chapter XV Eechov describes the sound of guitars and violins and adds: 'I... kazetsja, &o vmeste s teplym, vlasnym vozdu- chom vdychaeg' v sebja i &i zvuki" (VIII, 538).

12. Mysl'. 13. "Ezemesjaznye literaturnye priloienija", iViva, 10, 11, 12

(October, November, December 1896). 14. A.P.Eechov, Rasskazy. l.MuHiki. 2.Moja iizn' (S.Peterburg

1897), published by A.S.Suvorin. 15. Eechov's use of various forms of the verb kazat'sja has at-

tracted the attention of a number of critics, who in general stress its role in establishing a given character's point of view and in the description of his impressions of reality. The example taken from PaZata No.6 may be seen as a particu- lar aspect of the "synthetic" narrative technique described by Bicilli, whereby Eechov objectively depicts a given set of circumstances, following on with an account of the hero's subjective reaction to them, introduced by kasalos'. (See P.Bicilli, Tvorzestvo Cechova. Opyt stiZistiEeskogo anaZiza, [Sofia 19421, 40 ff.).

SiniZc and Concretism in ?echov's Short Stories 149

16. The use of kazaZos' here and of the personification which follows is one of the many features which contribute to the strongly delineated personality of the anonymous adult narra- tor of Step', in that it denotes a subjective evaluation of sensory impressions. In this respect (at least) it differs from those instances in the story where kazalos' is used in presenting reality through the eyes of the central character, Egorugka. (See N.a.Nilsson, Studies in ?eehov's Narrative Technique: "The Steppe" and "The Bishop" (Stockholm 1968), 33-5.

17. Severnyj vestnik, 11 (November 1888). 18. Posredrzik edition (Moskva 1893). 19. M.Gorkij, Materialy i issledovanija, edited by S.D.Baluchatyj

and V.A.Desnickij, 3 ~01s. (Leningrad, Moskva/Leningrad 1934-41), II, 186.