FW: [SEELANGS] Tsar'-devitsa - Не честь–хвала

[Robert Chandler]

Olgajan,

Here is what I wrote originally:

Ivan Tsarevich is overwhelmed by the beauty of the sleeping Marya-Krasa,
Dolga Kosa.  And so
“Что мне не честь!” разгорелось у молодца ретивое сердце.

And then he waters his horse at her well.

            *

I NOW understand this as "Is not this an honour for me?"  And it IS an
honour for him.  She is someone very special (a niece of Baba Yaga!!), and
at the end of the story he will marry her and live with her in the
podsolnechnoe tsarstvo.

Rx


------ Forwarded Message
From: Olga Meerson <meersono at georgetown.edu>
Reply-To: seelangs <SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU>
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:21:57 -0400
To: seelangs <SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU>
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Tsar'-devitsa - Не  честь–хвала

Robertjan, Re:
"Не честь–хвала да молодецкая! - в дорожку был справивши не в вестимую,
получил своего батюшка вси прихоти, и - буде поискать свого родного братца,
Дмитрия-царевича!" 

What is the PREVIOUS context for the expression? Negations (e.g., as listed
similes) may have a non-negated effect in Russian folklore (e.g.. ьл не
ветер ветку клонит, не дубравушка шумит--то мое сердечко стонет, как осенний
лист дрожит), and in fact, the same semantic shade WOULD be present in the
"CHEM mne ne chest'?", as a rhetorical question. But NOT IN ALL
contexts--certainly, not in chto mne beschest'e?! Negations, even if a given
sequence of words containing them is the exact same, may mean very different
thongs depending on the context OF that syntax--what surrounds it.

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