Onegin

[atacama at global.co.za]

Daniel answers me:


> ...snip..  The homophobia is especially evident in the 
peculiar use of the word "'honour'"  by Beljakova.  What would be 
"dishonourable" about someone (real of literary) being gay?  

> True, an 
educated nineteenth-century Russian more likely than not would view the 
phenomenon with suspicion or hostility, and therefore consider it 
"dishonourable."  

Daniel.  I'm glad that you fully understood the point I made.
We are indeed dealing with 19th-century characters, 
heroes and authors, to whom being described as gay or partially 
so, would be offending and a cause for challenging to a duel 
to defend their 'honour'.  People died for lesser causes in
literature and reality.

Now, we have 21st century 'Western' academics imposing
their fashionably contemporary morality across a huge
psychological and cultural and geographic gap on 
hapless characters/authors to whom the 21st century
moral outlook would have been totally alien, if not repulsive.

I am equally against Christ being portrayed as gay.

I am just against cross-century and cross-cultural
character assassination.  By all means explore new
outlandish angles, as a form of intellectual exercise,
but just keep it tongue-in-cheek.  It could be an
intellectual game, but should be taken too seriously.

BTW, in Zimbabwe homosexuality is still punishable
by imprisonment (in theory), and there was a huge
scandal a few years ago when a minister, 
terrorist+freedom fighter war-hero ended up in court
(for various reasons) being exposed as imposing
himself on his soldier/guards and for taking on a 
soldier as a 'wife' (who apparently ended up in tears
and ostracized/terrorised by other soldiers) - 
besides all the other 'wives'.

So .... we might be in the 21st century in the USA,
but to impose USA morality on other/alien cultures 
is considered to be a form of cultural 'colonialism',
and here one needs to tread carefully.

Russians, of course, are convinced that Westerns
will never be able to understand the Russian soul,
and Russians have problem understanding the 
"American/Anglo-Saxon", which is terribly low-profile
in literature.

This might give rise to another debate:
Russian versus American Soul (across the centuries).

> Note also the xenophobia in this formulation: "our" heroes are not here 
to defend themselves.  From whom? 

>From 21st century alien analysts (see above for details) who are
tinkering around the characters/authors/sacred symbols/

> From some non-Russian "other" who has 
no business looking into the sexual proclivities of certain Russians?  
Or, more broadly speaking, can only the Russians understand "Russian 
soul?"  

Well, I certainly look forward to this debate.

Personally, I am bi-tri-lingual;, and bi-tri cultural from birth,
so I do understand Daniel's point of view, but can't second it.

Vera Beljakova
Johannesburg












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