private Onegin et al. (correction & reply)

Mon Apr 17 18:57:08 UTC 2006

Dear Irene Zohrab,

Thank you for taking the time to write you letter to me,
which I appreciate.
Yes, of course, homosexuality and male prostitution will occur
in all societies, but in some it will be rampant in your face, 
as is the case in USA, and in others it is a punishable offence,
while in others it is kept under wraps.  No doubt about it.

But personally, I think, in terms of Pushkin, Onegin and Tatyana
Dr Daniel r. is going overboard and is flaunting his ideas
in an unseemly manner, much as a street rioter waves his banner.

Only Pushkin knew his Onegin as he was the character's creator,
and Tatyana, no mater what, was a simple provincial girl ....
I had a private correspondence with Daniel, in which I doubted
that Tatyana would have understood what homosexuality was.
I was a student in England, very urbanised in the 1960s, and it
was only once I arrived at university aged 18, only then, did
I hear and learn that there was homosexuality - simply because
I was explained what all those swear words were.  it came as a 
shock to a 1960s student, never mind an early 19th provincial character.

Remember, Queen Victoria did not ban lesbianism as a crime,
because he was convinced such a crime could not occur or exist.

Anyhow, I have received many letters of support for defending
Onegin from Daniel's attacks, but it saddens me that these
men write to me because they date not be seen as politically incorrect 
and envy me my indepenedence.

best wishes

Vera Beljakova
Johannesburg, where we certainly have an active
politicised gay culture movement.

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Irene Zohrab Irene.Zohrab at VUW.AC.NZ
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 11:58:35 +1200
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Onegin et al. (correction & reply)

Dear Vera Beljakova,

I feel obliged to comment on your statement that the current postings
relating to homosexuality are quasi-political and have nothing to do with
the culture of Russia in the nineteenth century. Not wishing to overwork
these notions I feel it is only fair to remember that there is evidence
to show that homosexuality was not unknown in many sections of Russian
society in the nineteenth century. Already in 1830-40s according to the
Memoirs of Peterburgskii starozhil, the pseudonym of V P Burnashev
(1810-1888) (a writer mainly of childrens literature) pederasticheskii
razvrat  as he refers to it, was prevalent in St. Petersburg. Amongst
other things he notes that along the Nevsky, in addition to the usual
street women, there were also young men: Vse eto byli prekhoroshenkie
soboiu foreitory. . .kantonistiki, pevchie razlichnykh khorov, remeslennye
ucheniki opriatnykh masterstv, preimushchenstvenno parikhmakherskogo,
oboinogo, portnogo, a takzhe lavochnye malchiki bez mest, molodenkie
pisarki voennogo i morskogo ministerstv, nakonets dazhe vitsmundirnye
kantseliarskie chinovniki raznykh departamentov. . . .  mezhdu molodymi
izvozchikami, osobenno likhachami, bylo vesma mnogo parenkov,
promyshliavshikh etim gnusnym promyslom. (Quoted in: K.K. Rotikov, Drugoi
Peterburg, Sankt-Peterburg, 1998, pages 357-8) 
In relation to the elite salons of St Petersburg there is an interesting
publication printed in Geneva in 1879 (due to censorship in Russia)
entitled Erot Russe: Ne dlia Dam that consists of homoerotic material. 
The collection opens with an ironic address to the reader pointing out that
the contents is a reflection of the mores of a number of well-known
educational institutions that had produced many of Russias leading
personages and statesmen in the past. It contains amongst other things the
well-known long poem by A F Shenin The adventures of a Page and some
early poems of Lermontovs. 
There is more evidence regarding the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Often cited is the report by the Minister of State Property. M.N. Ostrovsky
(the brother of the playwright) that supplies some graphic details about
homosexuality in St. Petersburg of the 1880s: porok muzhelozhestva
sushchestvuet uzhe neskolko let, no nikogda ne prinimal takogo razmera,
kak v nastoiashchee vremia, kogda, mozhno skazat, net ni odnogo klassa v
peterburgskom naselenii, sredi kotorogo ne okazyvalos by mnogo ego
posledovatelei. . . . . (Quoted in Rotikov, p.358-360)

Various other sources could be cited. 

I.Z.

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list on behalf of
atacama at global.co.za
Sent: Sun 4/16/2006 9:53 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Onegin et al. (correction & reply)

Dear Dr. Daniel Rancour-Laferriere,

I understand Edward Dumanis to you very well.
You are giving the image of promoting the
Gay-Culture, which has taken on quasi-political status 
in the Western World, and is a 21st c. (late 20th
c.) phenomenon, trying to use poor Onegin as a vehicle,
but this has very little to do with 19th century reality
of Tatyana's provincial Russia or the elite salons of 
St. Petersburg.

Toying with such notions is one thing, and can be quite
amusing for this Listserv, but I am alarmed when such 
notions are taken seriously or overworked.

Therein lies the crux of the matter.

With respects,

Vera Beljakova
Johannesburg

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list on behalf of
Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
Sent: Sun 4/16/2006 6:06 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Onegin et al. (correction & reply)

Dear Edward Dumanis,
I have read your message several times, and I cannot understand it, 
especially your usage of the word "political."  Please try to distill 
your message into a single straightforward paragraph so that I can give 
a simple and direct response.

Thank you,

Sincerely,
Daniel Rancour-Laferriere

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