Platonov translation problem

[Mary Delle LeBeau]

How about-- soon I'll come die beside you or soon I'll come die by
you, or next to you.

Mary Delle LeBeau

On 12 Nov 2004, at 7:34, Robert Chandler wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Fairly near the beginning of CHEVENGUR, Sasha Dvanov (probably about
> 11 years old) is sent out by his foster family to go and beg.  He
> stops by the grave of his real father, a suicide, and talks to him:
>
> “His father lay patiently and nearby, not complaining how grim and
> terrible it feels to remain alone all winter. What was there down
> there? It was bad there, it was quiet and cramped there, and it was
> impossible from down there to see the boy with the stick and the
> beggar’s bag.
>
>  ‘Father, they’ve made me go out begging.  Soon I’ll come and
>  die your way
> {Soon I’ll be dead with you / Soon I’ll come and die on you} you
> must be lonely there on your own, and I’m lonely too.’”
>
> Тhe Russian of the last sentence is as follows:
> – Папа, меня прогнали побираться, я ь
> скоро умру к тебе – тебе там ведь
> скучно одному, и мне скучно. Papa, menya
> prognali pobirat’sya, ya teper’ skoro umru k tebe — tebe tam
> ved’  skuchno odnomu, i mne skuchno. “Skoro umru k tebe” is of
> course breathtakingly bold, apparently simple yet unforgettable.  It
> is as if the child does not recognize the boundary between life and
> death, and for this reason says “umru k tebe” as straightforwardly
> as he might say “priidu k tebe”.
>
> Any suggestions?  “I’ll be dead with you” is not bad, but a
> little too ordinary.  “I’ll come and die your way” lacks the
> memorable childish simplicity of the original.  “I’ll come and die
> on you” has the right boldness, but perhaps sounds hostile.
> Although I’m hoping that the context and the possible literal
> meaning (that Sasha will come and die right there on the grave) may
> make it acceptable.
>
> Vsego nailuchshego,
>
> Robert
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your
>  subscription
>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface
>   at:
>                     http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---


Ph.D. candidate in Russian
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

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