Translations of Pushkin, Tolstoy?

[David Powelstock]

The problem with Falen's translation of "russkaia khandra" as "Russian soul"
is that it suggests that Evgeny's particular spiritual condition is the
equivalent of the Russian soul in general.  (Note also that "khandra" is a
*condition of* the soul, not the soul itself.  "Khandra" can be temporary.)
Not every Russian soul is characterized by "khandra"--e.g., Tatyana's.  It's
not even clear that Pushkin considers Evgeny's "russkaia khandra" to be much
more than a fashion, a localized variant of "Byronic spleen" layered on top
of a certain justifiable alienation, a condition more typical of the age
than of any country.  Do we really think that Pushkin considered Evgeny the
emblem of "russkaia dusha"?  That would be a hard argument to make.  Thus,
"Russian soul" is a bad translation error.  It distorts Pushkin's attitude
toward Evgeny and Russia, and it is semantically and historically
inaccurate.  "Russian spleen" would work better, and it wouldn't be
difficult to rhyme.

David Powelstock

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Irina Zhulamanova
> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 12:02 PM
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Translations of Pushkin, Tolstoy?
>
> Dear Laura and Robert,
>
> actually, Pushkin himself gave an 19th century English
> equivalent for 'khandra', 'angliiskii spleen'. How would you
> translate this 'spleen' into contemporary American English?
> The translation of 'khandra' as a 'soul' for me looks like
> saying that 'courage' equals 'temper'. Khandra is one of the
> soul's emotional conditions, features, etc, so soul is a
> generic word for khandra. We say, "Ne khandri, ne nervnichai,
> ne dergaisia" in contemporary Russian, isn't it possible to
> draw on this and find a more specific Enflish lexical item
> than 'soul'?
>
> Irina
>
> Quoting Robert Chandler <kcf19 at DIAL.PIPEX.COM>:
>
> > Dear Laura,
> >
> > I agree entirely with your general praise of Falen.  I just want to
> > add that the line you quote is not an 'unfortunate
> translation choice' in the least.
> > It conveys Pushkin's meaning and tone very well.  I
> appreciate that a
> > language teacher may find it irritating if students end up thinking
> > that 'khandra' = 'soul' - but translators are NOT language teachers!
> >
> > Best Wishes,
> >
> > Robert Chandler
> >
> >> I just used Falen for the first time in a survey course and found
> >> that it was surprisingly accurate, given how well it
> conveys the tone
> >> of the original to non-Russian speakers.  One word of
> warning: 1:38
> >> contains the unfortunate translation choice of rendering "koroche:
> >> russkaia khandra" as "We call it simply /Russian soul/."  Students
> >> read all kinds of deep meanings into this, something which
> I plan to
> >> forestall with advance warning next time around.
> >>
> >> Laura Goering
> >> Carleton College
> >>
> >> pjs wrote:
> >>
> >>> Anyone have any strong feelings about the Johnston vs. the Falen
> >>> translation of E.O. for a survey course in 19th-century Russian
> >>> literature?  My sense (after a cursory inspection) is that the
> >>> Johnston hews more closely to the original while the Falen "reads
> >>> better."  Other suggestions?
> >>>
> >>> How about _Death of Ivan Illich_?  Any suggestions there? Anyone
> >>> seen the Pasternak-Slater translation?
> >>>
> >>> Peter Scotto
> >>> Mount Holyoke College
> >>>
> >>>
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