In the beginning...

[Inna Caron]

I think the dinner guest had it confused with "prikazal dolgo zhit',"
which is, indeed, a euphemism for "died." 

Uncle zastavil sebya uvazhat' while still alive, although seemingly not
for long. Meaning, the relatives hoping for the inheritance were forced
to show him utmost respect in order to weasel their way into his will.
Same situation was played out later in War and Peace, at the deathbed of
the old Count Bezukhov.


-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Genevra Gerhart
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 4:26 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] In the beginning...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A dinner guest the other night assured me that "On uvazhat' sebya
zastavil"
meant, in the time of Pushkin, "He kicked the bucket" that is, he died.
He
even found an online source that said as much, except that the only
proof
offered was "Lyuboe izdaniye Evgeniya Onegina s kommentariyami".

 

I hurried to my Nabokov commentaries and found no such suggestion either
in
the translation in the overflowing notes.

 

Can we give credence to such an assertion? Did Uncle die?  

 

Genevra Gerhart

 

ggerhart at comcast.net

 

www.genevragerhart.com

www.russiancommonknowledge.com

 

 


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