Platonov and God

[Olga Meerson]

The reason I suggested "--or something" has NOTHING ro do with the fact that, in and of itself, as found in dictionaries, chto li does not mean chto-to, and "something" would be translated as chto-to only. The "or" in "or something" changes the meaning of this something completely.

There is something (pardon!!!) bothering me about the "there". "If only you were THERE" sounds too openly philosophical for Platonov--like "is only you existed", while "xot' by ty byl" is not the same as "xot' by ty sushchestvoval". The "byl" here almost creates a notion that God's being/ existence itself depends on this prayerful petition. Perhaps the "at least" is what gives that meaning of the Russian "chtoby Ty byl"?
o

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