help with translation

[Michael Denner]

Dear SEELANGers,

(Let me know off-list if the Cyrillic fails below.)

I'm having trouble with a translation from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. In the
20-vol. Moscow edition, the line (from ch. 2 of part 7) goes that Levin's
liveries cost the equivalent of двух летних работников, то есть около
трехсот рабочих дней от святой до заговень, и каждый день тяжкой работы с
раннего утра до позднего вечера. The obvious translation runs: "the wages of
two laborers for the summer, that is, about three hundred working days from
Easter to Ash Wednesday, and each a day of hard work from early morning to
late evening."

This seems to me to be illogical. Zagoven'e (I think) usually means Ash
Wednesday (though it could apply to any day before a fast). (Why this form?
The gen. sing. would be zagoven'ja, and the gen. pl. would be zagovenej,
right?) Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, 7 weeks before Easter. It
is, indeed, three hundred-odd days between Easter and Ash Wednesday (55 days
the Lenten period, if years of Catholic education paid off). Here's the
problem: Why does Tolstoy call the workers "letnii" if they work from April
to February? Moreover, why an agricultural worker would be paid for work
nearly year-round in Russia is also unclear.

Does one just call all ag-workers "summer workers"? If so, what would be a
good translation?

Can anyone clear this up?
Best,

Michael A. Denner



<|><|><|><|><|><|><|>
Michael A. Denner
Russian Studies Department
Campus Unit 8361
Stetson University
DeLand, FL 32720
904.822.7265






<|><|><|><|><|><|><|>
Michael A. Denner
Russian Studies Department
Campus Unit 8361
Stetson University
DeLand, FL 32720
904.822.7265

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                http://members.home.net/lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------