Platonov 'Never to return'

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Olga Meerson wrote:

> All of the examples used here are indeed important excerptions to the 
> action order with perfective gerunds. The one with Zhachev, however, IS 
> NOT. At least it is totally unclear when, in relation to leaving, 
> Zhachev never returned. 

To me it's perfectly clear -- "never" means "never." It refers to a time 
period beginning at departure and extending forward indefinitely. We 
don't have to be more specific than that, and we would drive ourselves 
crazy if we tried to pin down the precise time of "never" because by 
definition it /has/ no precise time.

Nor do I have a problem with the use of the gerund -- "никогда не 
возвратившись" functions the same way as "и никогда не возвратился 
(вернулся)." I've seen plenty of uses of past gerunds like this -- 
though of course I agree that it's no longer common in contemporary 
literature; it does have an antique feel to it.

> Platonov has other instances of treating time non-linearly: i dazhe
> obradovalsia nam, no vposledstvii oshibsia ('Ivan Zhokh), etc. The
> mistake refers to the time of rejoicing but its mistakenness is
> something that would become apparent only later. My friend and
> colleague Nancy Workman once translated that one as 'but later he had
> been in the wrong'.

If we accept your reading of the Russian, then the English does not say 
that -- it says (as the Russian appears to say) that the mistake 
occurred later. The only way I can see to convey the sense you intend in 
English is to interpolate: "but later he _found/learned/discovered/saw_ 
he had erred/been wrong/etc." (но впоследствии _понял, что_ ошибся).

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------