Tolstoy question 5

[Judson Rosengrant]

I have to agree with Prof. Mclean in regard to the erotic dimension.
There are certainly many erotic moments in the trilogy (it is a major theme,
just as it must be, given the narrative's broad subject of the passage from
childhood to adulthood), but they are always quite subtle and nuanced
(Tolstoy may have been much more sophisticated about sex than we are, may
have had a much more complex understanding of it), and in any case the point
here is indeed that Volodya's association of Katya with his childhood (they
grew up as virtual brother and sister) has prevented him from seeing her as
she now is, as a beautiful young woman of great charm (I omitted
some text in my original quote, text that actually reinforces this point.)
The title of the chapter, it shouldn't be overlooked, is Отношения между
нами и девочками [NB], between the boys and their sisters, Любочка и
Катенька.

Оказалось, во всяком случае, что простыня далеко не простая.

Jud     


Judson Rosengrant, PhD
PO Box 551 
Portland, OR 97207

503.880.9521 mobile
jrosengrant at earthlink.net

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