Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Columbia University Press (2019), 176 pages
Description
An unsung classic of nineteenth-century Russian literature, Karolina Pavlova's A Double Life alternates prose and poetry to offer a wry picture of Russian aristocratic society and vivid dreams of escaping its strictures. Pavlova combines rich narrative prose that details balls, tea parties, and horseback rides with poetic interludes that depict her protagonist's inner world-and biting irony that pervades a seemingly romantic description of a young woman who has everything.A Double Life tells the story of Cecily, who is being trapped into marriage by her well-meaning mother; her best friend, Olga; and Olga's mother, who means to clear the way for a wealthier suitor for her own daughter by marrying off Cecily first. Cecily's privileged upbringing makes her oblivious to the havoc that is being wreaked around her. Only in the seclusion of her bedroom is her imagination freed: each day of deception is followed by a night of dreams described in soaring verse. Pavlova subtly speaks against the limitations placed on women and especially women writers, which translator Barbara Heldt highlights in a critical introduction. Among the greatest works of literature by a Russian woman writer, A Double Life is worthy of a central place in the Russian canon.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbill
A hidden gem of 19th century Russian literature, which appears to have been buried by history because its author was a woman. Karolina Pavlova tells us of a young woman struggling with the societal pressures that she undoubtedly felt herself (and more so), which made the story poignant to me.
The young woman is expected to get a certain amount of education, but to not spend too much time on poetry, or “any development of imagination and inspiration, those eternal enemies of propriety.” It’s a powerful analogy when Pavlova compares it to putting her mind in a corset for so long that she no longer even feels it, and the constraints on women are peppered throughout the book. A young woman was expected to marry, and marry well, and we see maneuvering between her mother and her friend’s mother for possible suitors (I won’t spoil the details). Even in what should be happiness, finding someone, Pavlova is brilliant when she juxtaposes a crass bachelor party for the young man alongside the young lady telling her friends how virtuous he is. There is a sense of doom in that the man will change and exert power over her the moment they are married, further shackling her to her fate because she is a woman.
Karolina Pavlova seems like an interesting person in her own right, and her lonely exile in Dresden over her last decades is a little sad. It was interesting to find out that her first romantic love was Adam Mickiewicz, who tutored her in Polish to go along with the seven other languages she knew.
Just this quote, her dedication to women of the future:
“To you the offering of this thought,
The greeting of my poetry,
To you this work of solitude,
O slaves of din and vanity.
In silence did my sad sigh name
You Cecilys unmet by me,
All of you Psyches without wings,
Mute sisters of my soul!
God grant you, unknown family,
One sacred dream mid sinful lies,
In the prison of this narrow life
Just one brief burst of that other life.” (September 1846)
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It’s told in ten chapters with the events of the day told in prose, followed by the dreams at night told in poetry. Pavlova is effective in both styles, and this framing is not only interesting, but goes along well the double life of keeping up with the expectations of society, and yet yearning to have more freedom and control in life.The young woman is expected to get a certain amount of education, but to not spend too much time on poetry, or “any development of imagination and inspiration, those eternal enemies of propriety.” It’s a powerful analogy when Pavlova compares it to putting her mind in a corset for so long that she no longer even feels it, and the constraints on women are peppered throughout the book. A young woman was expected to marry, and marry well, and we see maneuvering between her mother and her friend’s mother for possible suitors (I won’t spoil the details). Even in what should be happiness, finding someone, Pavlova is brilliant when she juxtaposes a crass bachelor party for the young man alongside the young lady telling her friends how virtuous he is. There is a sense of doom in that the man will change and exert power over her the moment they are married, further shackling her to her fate because she is a woman.
Karolina Pavlova seems like an interesting person in her own right, and her lonely exile in Dresden over her last decades is a little sad. It was interesting to find out that her first romantic love was Adam Mickiewicz, who tutored her in Polish to go along with the seven other languages she knew.
Just this quote, her dedication to women of the future:
“To you the offering of this thought,
The greeting of my poetry,
To you this work of solitude,
O slaves of din and vanity.
In silence did my sad sigh name
You Cecilys unmet by me,
All of you Psyches without wings,
Mute sisters of my soul!
God grant you, unknown family,
One sacred dream mid sinful lies,
In the prison of this narrow life
Just one brief burst of that other life.” (September 1846)
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LibraryThing member over.the.edge
A Double Life
by Karolina Pavlova
Translated from Russian by Barbara Heldt
2019
Columbia University Press
4.5 / 5.0
#netgalley. #RussianLibrary
Cecile Alexandrovna, a refined and well behaved daughter, in Moscow, is tired of the social structures of aristocratic society. She dreams of finding a good man,
However, Ceciles good friend, Olga, wants to marry Prince Victor, and begins to set Ceciles and Dmitry together, so Victor will be available for her.
Cecile does not know Olga is setting up the romance and believes Dmitry is falling in love with her, and marries him......
Pavlova originally wrote the Classic of Russian Literature in 1848. It is being published this year in the USA, and its premise is so perfect for the times we are living through. This is a work of wit and depth, originally written to show the duality of women in society and the mores of aristocratic society. This story will stay with you, the emotional range done precisely and masterfully. Herxwords are perfected crafted for this novel. Its fantastic.
Thanks to the publisher, author and netgalley for this e- book ARC for review.
by Karolina Pavlova
Translated from Russian by Barbara Heldt
2019
Columbia University Press
4.5 / 5.0
#netgalley. #RussianLibrary
Cecile Alexandrovna, a refined and well behaved daughter, in Moscow, is tired of the social structures of aristocratic society. She dreams of finding a good man,
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rather than a rich one. Her mother, Vera, wants her to marry the wealthy Prince Victor. She believes he is the only one that's perfect for her daughter.However, Ceciles good friend, Olga, wants to marry Prince Victor, and begins to set Ceciles and Dmitry together, so Victor will be available for her.
Cecile does not know Olga is setting up the romance and believes Dmitry is falling in love with her, and marries him......
Pavlova originally wrote the Classic of Russian Literature in 1848. It is being published this year in the USA, and its premise is so perfect for the times we are living through. This is a work of wit and depth, originally written to show the duality of women in society and the mores of aristocratic society. This story will stay with you, the emotional range done precisely and masterfully. Herxwords are perfected crafted for this novel. Its fantastic.
Thanks to the publisher, author and netgalley for this e- book ARC for review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member yarb
I’m surprised Pavlova didn’t write more in prose, because the prose sections of “A Double Life” are sparkling-bright, consistently spicy in their denunciation of the “mental corset” Cecily and her ilk are forced to wear. There’s neither the time in ten short chapters, nor the
“This state of lively tension, the jolly noise that surrounds brides, calls to mind that accidentally deafening music and beating of drums by which soldiers are led into mortal combat.”
I disliked the verse sections less than I expected to, as well. The device of the alternating prose/verse, day/night double existence works really well. Unfortunately it’s another case of Russian poetry in translation being stripped of all rhyme and meter, so it reads as chopped up highfalutin’ prose. I get that it’s anything but easy to translate Russian poetry so I’m not gonna fault the translator too much, especially as her work on the prose sections is excellent. But for me it’s the only real tarnish on this (still, strangely) underread gem of a book.
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inclination here for subtlety. The scheming of the women, naivety of the girls, and oafish coarseness of the men are undisguised. There are lots of mordant cracks like this:“This state of lively tension, the jolly noise that surrounds brides, calls to mind that accidentally deafening music and beating of drums by which soldiers are led into mortal combat.”
I disliked the verse sections less than I expected to, as well. The device of the alternating prose/verse, day/night double existence works really well. Unfortunately it’s another case of Russian poetry in translation being stripped of all rhyme and meter, so it reads as chopped up highfalutin’ prose. I get that it’s anything but easy to translate Russian poetry so I’m not gonna fault the translator too much, especially as her work on the prose sections is excellent. But for me it’s the only real tarnish on this (still, strangely) underread gem of a book.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1848
Physical description
176 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
0231190794 / 9780231190794
Local notes
fiction