The Odyssey Read-Along Book I & II

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The Odyssey Read-Along @ Plethora of Books

And so we start our journey with Odysseus in his quest to find his way home after the long Trojan War, to be reunited with his wife and son, and to re-establish his reputation as the king of Ithaka.  Plethora of Books is kindly hosting this read-along and has done a wonderful introductory post overflowing with important background information to better understand and enjoy The Odyssey, so please check it out!

I’m going to be posting two books at a time, in spite of the four-books-a-week pace, because I have a strong feeling that my posts will get too long, trying to fit four books into one post.

Greek text of The Odyssey’s opening passage
source Wikipedia

Book I

Homer invokes his Muse to tell the story of “a man of many ways” who after the sack of Troy, spends much time fighting for his life and those of his companions to accomplish their homecoming.  Yet Homer quite handily and conveniently makes Odysseus a lone hero by relating the story of his companions’ fateful actions as they foolishly abuse the hospitality of Helios the Sun God by eating his cattle and, therefore, meet their death.

On Olympus, Athene pleads with Zeus to remember the struggles of Odysseus, in spite of the anger of Poseidon, kindled after Odysseus blinded his son, Polyphemus, the Cyclops.  Zeus agrees to send Hermes to him and Athene departs for Ithaka, the home of Odysseus, where his wife is being beseiged by suitors and his son, Telemachos, stands helpless.  Announcing herself as a man named Mentes, Athene counsels Telemachos to take a ship and search for his father, who is being held captive on a sea-washed island.  Her instructions will send him first to visit Nestor on Pylos and then Menelaos at Sparta.  Before leaving, she reprimands him for his childish acceptance of the raucous disrespectful behaviour in his household.  A transformed Telemachos returns home to lightly scold his mother, Penelope, and admonish the suitors for their behaviour, astonishing both parties with his newly acquired forcefulness and strength of mind.  We find later that Telemachos has ascertained that it was Athene in the form of Mentes, then he retires to bed, deliberating the upcoming voyage.


Thoughts:


Hospitality

The guest-host relationship is an important aspect of Greek culture.  In The Iliad, we get an example of how complex this social ritual is when we see Diomedes of the Achaean (Greek) warriors and Glaukos of the Trojan warriors, not only refusing to fight each other, but exchanging armour simply because the grandfather of Diomedes had hosted Glaukos in the past and they had exchanged gifts.  Their actions demonstrate that the guest-host relationship is sacred.  Perhaps this example makes it easier to understand why the Sun God would slaughter all of Odysseus’s men, and it also makes the behaviour of the suitors in the home of Odysseus that much more appalling.  Odysseus was/is the king of Ithaka, yet it is obvious by his absence, the island is completely lacking leadership and the societal rules and traditions have degraded into a type of anarchy.

Fame & Glory

It appears that if Odysseus would have died the death of a warrior during the Trojan War, his namesake would have been respected and the problems with the suitors would probably have not existed.  The glory he would have won in death would have been passed to Telemachos:

“…….. I should not have sorrowed over his dying
if he had gone down among his companions in the land of the Trojans,
or in the arms of his friends, after he had wound up the fighting.
So all the Achaians would have heaped a grave mound over him,
And he would have won great fame for himself and his son hereafter.” (236 – 240)

Telemachos

When we first meet him, he is a boy, without any power or prestige.  The suitors have taken over his house and, in fact, his inheritance, as they make free use of his goods.  While he complains to third parties about the mens’ insolence and discourtesy, he does not seem to have made any resistance against them in word or deed.  Yet after his conversation with Mentes (Athene), she imbues him with courage and spirit, which he immediately puts to use and attempts to establish himself as the power in the household, first by demonstrating control over his mother, and then by threatening the suitors with consequences if they don’t return to their own homes.

Telemachos & Mentor
source Wikipedia

Book II

Telemachos calls a meeting of the men of Ithaka, where he castigates them for abusing his home and provisions, and for pressuring his mother to marry yet not being willing to take the proper steps of asking her father for her hand.  Yet Antinoös contests his views, agreeing to allow Penelope and her father to choose one of them, and accuses her of the ultimate deception: conceiving of a ploy to delay her marriage, she begins weaving a shroud, agreeing she will marry one of the suitors when it is finished, yet she unravels the shroud each night.  Countering the charge by avoiding the issue, Telemachos states he cannot make his mother marry against her will without invoking the rage of the furies and the displeasure of the people.  Hmmmm ……. some of his father’s wiliness seems to be springing up in his character …..

As they are speaking, two eagles overhead tear at each other, and wise Halitherses, reading the omen, warns the suitors that Odysseus will return and that they will suffer great pains.  Scorning his words, Eurymachos states that they will continue their harassment, whereupon Telemachos requests a ship and men to journey to find his father, promising that if he learns of his death, he will return and give his mother in marriage.  Mentor, the steward of Odysseus, then accused the people of Ithaka of not speaking up against the suitors’ ignoble actions.  Leokritos, scoffing, dares anyone to go against them, even Odysseus himself, and the meeting breaks up accordingly.

In response to Telemachos’ prayer, Athene appears in the form of Mentor and promises him a ship.  When Telemachos arrives home, Antinoös attempts to persuade him to feast with them, but he replies that he will work towards their destruction and, as he leaves, the suitors ponder if he is going to seek a way to bring about their murders, or if perhaps, he may perish on his upcoming voyage.

Meanwhile, Athene secures men and a ship, returns to place a “sweet slumber over the suitors”, which allows them to leave unseen.

Thoughts:


Ithaka Without A King

It’s apparent that without a king, the island kingdom has fallen into a sorry state of disorder and rebellion.  The suitors, by abusing the code of hospitality, are acting in a way that they would never act if there had been proper leadership.  Aigyptios mentioned that the meeting called by Telemachos was the first since Odysseus had gone away (nearly 20 years before!), more evidence of a lack of government which allows the suitors free license in their conduct.

Telemachos

He still needs to rely on leadership from Athene, but if she gives him a task, he is ready to complete it.  The suitors still aren’t taking him seriously …… yet …..

Men Crying

“So he (Telemachos) spoke in anger, and dashed to the ground the scepter
in a stormburst of tears; and pity held all the people
Now all the rest were stricken to silence, none was so hardy
As to answer, angry word against word, the speech of Telemachos.” (80 – 83)

This scene occurred in the middle of Telemachos’ speech to the suitors at the meeting.  Is this a childish tantrum?  I’m not sure.  The corresponding emotions felt by the people were pity and restraint.  I know from reading The Iliad, that tears from a Greek warrior are not unusual, and a crying man was not viewed by the ancient Greeks in the negative light that we would view one today.  Yet hurling the sceptre to the ground with tears perhaps shows a youthful frustration and petulance …?  What does everyone else think?

Penelope & the Suitors
by John William Waterhouse (1912)
Public Domain

Paradise Lost Read-Along Book VII & VIII

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Paradise Lost Read-Along

Book VII

The poet invokes the Muse of astronomy, Urania, as he recalls “evil days” into which he fell (I assume this refers to his blindness), after which Adam requests Raphael to describe the creation of the world after the fall of the rebel angels.   Raphael agrees but notes “to recount almightly works what words or tongue of Seraph can suffice, or heart of man suffice to comprehend.”  He also cautions Adam as to his pursuit of knowledge:

“But Knowledge is as food, and needs no less
Her temperance over appetite to know
In measure what the mind may well contain,
Oppresses else with surfeit, and soon turns
Wisdom to folly, as nourishment to wind.” (126 – 130)

The account of Genesis is then recounted by the angel.  Such music and singing, sweet and soft, “choral and unison”, that greeted creation in a symphony of praise to the Creator.

Creation of the Birds
by Gustave Doré (1866)
source Wikipaintings

Book VIII

Again, this part was difficult to understand but I believe Adam questions Raphael as to why Earth is so small compared to the rest of the universe.  Eve, listening thus far, decides to leave at this point.  Raphael then goes into copious detail about Heaven, Earth, the Cosmos, the Sun, etc.

“And for the Heaven’s wide circuit, let it speak
The Maker’s high magnificence, who built
So spacious, and his line stretched out so far,
That Man may know he dwells not in his own —
An edifice too large for him to fill,
Lodged in a small partition, and the rest 
Ordained for uses to his Lord best known.” (100-106)

Yet he ends with another caution about he curiosity of man:

“Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid:
Leave them to God above; him serve and fear.
……….
Think only what concerns thee and thy being;
Dream not of other worlds, what creatures there
Live, in what state, condition or degree,
Contented that thus far hath been revealed
Not of Earth only, but of highest Heaven.”  (167-178)

Grateful for the chance to learn from Raphael, Adam reciprocates by relating the story of his creation to the angel.  Milton’s verse is enchanting as he describes Adam waking from a sound sleep in the garden, his discovery of himself and the world around him and the creation of a companion, Eve.  Leading her to their “nuptial bower”, there he first feels a passion that transports him beyond power and even beyond reason.  Raphael reminds him that he shares the carnal nature of beasts and not to get carried away with sexual pleasure:

“But, if the sense of touch, whereby mankind 
Is propagated, seems such dear delight
Beyond all other, think the same vouchsafed
To cattle and each beast; which would not be
To them made common and divulged if aught
Therein enjoyed were worthy to subdue
The soul of man and passion in him move.” (579 – 585)

This carnal pleasure is not in itself true love.  True love elevates, whereas passion lowers the soul.

“What higher in her society thou find’st
Attractive, human, rational, love still:
In loving thou dost well, in passion not,
Wherein true love consists not.  Love refines
The thoughts, and heart enlarges, hath his seat
In Reason, and is judicious, is the scale
By which to heavenly love thou may’st ascend,
Not sunk in carnal pleasure, for which cause
Among the beasts no mate for thee was found.” (586-594)

Adam assures the angel there is a union of minds between them, “in us both one soul,” then he prods on tender ground, inquiring if angels share love by “looks only.”  Blushing a “celestial rosy hue”, Raphael reveals that when angels embrace there is no need for “flesh to mix with flesh,” and with one last warning for our curious first man, he ascends back to Heaven.

Thoughts:

Well, the reading is certainly getting harder and I am having to re-read in parts to get the gist of what is happening, especially when Raphael begins to talk about the universe, mixing Ptolemaic and Copernican theories.  Whew!

I’m not sure yet how I feel about Milton’s portrayal of Adam and Eve.  Their literary creation must have been a difficult task to accomplish.  On one hand it’s necessary to make them appear innocent and pure before the Fall, yet they also need to be capable of being tempted, so in reality he needs to give them some sort of flaw (is that the word I’m searching for?).  Perfect and yet not perfect.  I’m not sure if it’s possible to do this task well.

Honestly, I don’t have much to add with regard to these books.  Once again, very enjoyable, yet not as easy to assimilate as at the beginning of the poem, on more levels than just understanding.  I’m interested to see how Milton will handle the temptation of Eve and the Fall, because we all know who is still watching the Garden!

Satan Views Eden
by Gustave Doré 

The Odyssey Read-Along

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Plethora of Books is hosting an Odyssey Read-Along beginning now, and since she begged and grovelled and cajoled me to join, how could I say no?

Ulysses and the Sirens
by John William Waterhouse (1891)

Here is the schedule:

Feb 11 – Feb 15

  • Background Information Prep

Feb 16 – Feb 22

  • Books I – IV (pg 27-87: 61) – This section deals primarily with Odysseus’ son Telemachos

Feb 23 – Mar 1

  • Books V – VIII (pg 88-136: 49) – Odysseus leaving Kalypso island and journeys to Scheria

Mar 2 – Mar 8

  • Books IX – XII (pg 137-197: 61) – Flashbacks from Odysseus’ from Troy to Kalypso island

Mar 9 – Mar 15

  • Books XIII – XVII (pg 198-269: 72) – This is start of Odysseus’ narrative home to Ithaka

Mar 16 – Mar 22

  • Books XVIII – XXII (pg 270-334: 65) – continuation of Odysseus’ narrative

Mar 23 – Mar 29

  • Books XXIII – XXIV (pg 335-359: 25) – Conclusion and resolutions

Mar 30 – Apr 2

  • Wrap-up

I haven’t decided on the translation I’m going to read yet.  Lattimore is apparently the closest to the original, yet in spite of complaints that Fitzgerald tends to embellish (more Fitzgerald than Homer), I might just choose to read his, as I read Lattimore’s the first time round.  The Fagles translation I would tend to avoid on principle, but I’ll probably do a comparison between all three before I start.
In spite of feeling a wee bit overloaded with my reading, I’m really looking forward to reacquainting myself with The Odyssey.  After reading The Iliad, I fell in love with Greek literature and it will be a joy to visit some old companions again!
If you are interested in joining, pop over to Plethora’s blog to sign up!

Candide Read-Along

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Fariba from Exploring Classics is doing a read-along of Candide by Voltaire in March and I have decided to join.  My schedule should have eased somewhat by then and I should be able to fit it in relatively easily.

Here is the outline:

The event will be from March 1 – 31, 2014.

Fariba will be reading the work in the original language, but all posts will be in English.  Here is the posting schedule:

Monday, March 10:  chapters 1 – 8

Monday, March 17:  chapters 9 – 16

Monday March 24:  chapters 17 – 24

Monday, March 31:  chapters 25 – 30 (last post)

After she posts about a series of chapters, you have a whole week to comment on those chapters.

Depending on if I have enough time, I may tried to read the novel in the original French, or at the very least read some of it in French.  I don’t quite know what to expect from this novel but I’m looking forward to it!

Classics Club Spin #5 …………. And The Winner Is …………..!

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My excitement has turned to a cold sweat.  I am reading:

No, I haven’t spent the morning breathing into a paper bag, but nearly.  I do want to read this book, just not now.  I have read a number of chunksters lately (War & Peace, David Copperfield, Once & Future King, Ovid, etc.), my reading schedule is on overload and I have been and will be reading so many books on faith this year (my Lewis Project, Paradise Lost, the Pilgrim’s Progress ….) that I was really hoping to get something else.  Is that bad?  In any case, it is what it is.

Okay, I am going to grab my book, get myself a hot cup of tea and a better attitude!  🙂

photo courtesy of
Serge Bertasius Photography
source Free Photos

Best of luck to everyone on their attempts to complete their Spin!

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

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“My uncle, man of firm convictions …
By falling gravely ill, he’s won
A due respect for his afflictions —
The only clever thing he’s done.

I was so happy to get the chance to participate in Marian at Tanglewood’s Read-Along for my second read of Eugene Onegin in six months.  My first time I read the translation by Charles Johnston and this time chose to read James A. Falen’s translation.  But more comparisons on the two later.

It was such a joy to read such a lively and often tongue-in-cheek poem, yet Pushkin weaves his jaunty remarks throughout a tale of serious love, serious death and serious coming-of-age, crafting a remarkable masterpiece.

Since I already reviewed Eugene Onegin the first time I read it,  I will simply cover a couple of areas that stood out for me from a second read, that were not initially apparent.

First Edition of the novel
(source Wikipedia)

Comparing the two translations, I must say I enjoyed Falen more than Johnston.  Johnston’s words have a loftier tone and are perhaps more beautiful, but I think Falen captures the spirit of the poem more accurately.  A couple of times, his choice of words appeared awkward, yet he communicated the grave situations in balance with the bouncy, cheekiness of the narrator, with flair and apparent ease.  I would recommend him for a first-time reader.

This second read I noticed numerous instances of juxtaposition ………. Tatyana reading books that lead her to form a romantic infatuation with a man she’s barely spoken to vs. Tatyana reading books that lead her to a more mature and formed view of Onegin’s character; Tatyana’s love of the country and woods vs. her marital residence being in the city; Tatyana’s letter vs. Onegin’s letter; Onegin’s rejection of Tatyana, and then Tatyana’s rejection of Onegin; Onegin’s volatile response to a friend’s challenge that leads to that friend’s death vs. Onegin’s wish to seduce a friend’s wife which could have led to a similar circumstance.  It really became apparent to me this time that Onegin hadn’t learned anything.  It was clear to Tatyana, too.  She asks him pointedly, why he is suddenly pursuing her, and her harsh words demonstrate her mistrust of his motives:

” Why mark me out for your attention?
Is it perhaps my new ascension
To circles that you find more swank;
Or that I now have wealth and rank;
Or that my husband, maimed in battle,
Is held in high esteem at Court?
Or would my fall perhaps be sport,
A cause for all the monde to tattle —
Which might in turn bring you some claim
To social scandal’s kind of fame?”

Until he saw Tatyana the second time, he was the same foppish young man, sinking in ennui.  She revived him briefly, yet even in the ardent fog of love, his actions are not the actions of a man who has gone through a self-examination from the tragedy that had come from his initial conduct (the duel).  If he had managed to convince Tatyana to begin a relationship with him, it would have ended in another duel and another possible death of a friend.  I think Tatyana was wise enough to ascertain the baseness of his behaviour and foresaw the consequences.  She loved him as a man, yet rejected his ignoble character.

Statue of Alexander Pushkin
photo courtesy of Cliff (Flickr)
Creative Commons License

This quote by Onegin sums up his character throughout the poem:

“Yet I in futile dullness squander
These days allotted me by fate …..”

There is a pathos in his words and actions with which the reader can sympathize, hoping for a reversal in his chosen path, but at the end he is still walking the road of self-gratification and boredom, and we can only watch him disappear into the thickening mist …..

Eugene Onegin Read-Along Chapters 7 & 8

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Marian @ Tanglewood’s Read-Along

Chapters 7 & 8

Chapter 7


Spring comes, yet Onegin has fled the country and Lensky’s grave, while at first visited by the two young girls, soon remains alone and forgotten.  In fact, soon after his demise, Olga marries, showing her attachment was rather a tenuous one.  With Olga’s marriage, Tatyana is now alone and spends her time walking throughout the countryside.  One day she comes upon Onegin’s estate, gains entrance and begins to pour through the books he has left behind and the notes he has made inside them.  Perhaps reality began to materialize with Lensky’s death, but now she really begins to search for the true Onegin and perhaps does not like what she finds:

“And modern man himself portrayed
With something of his true complexion —
With his immoral soul disclosed
His arid vanity exposed,
His endless bent for deep reflection,
His cold, embittered mind that seems
To waste itself in empty schemes.”

“And so, in slow but growing fashion
My Tanya starts to understand
More clearly now — thank God — her passion
And him for whom, by fate’s command …”

Tatyana’s mother, Dame Larin is concerned that she has turned down marriage proposals and decides to take her to Moscow and the marriage mart.  Tatyana laments their going, saying good-bye to all her woodland haunts.  We are treated to a grand show of Moscow, but Tatyana does not like her new surroundings or the people in them.  Will she be able to adjust to this new reality?

Chapter 8

Onegin turns up in town and it appears he has been travelling, perhaps trying to forget the tragic circumstances that caused his flight from the country.  Tatyana has married a general, who is much older than her, and Onegin spies them at a party.  Astounded by Tatyana’s poise and regal demeanour, he begs an introduction by the general who is a friend of his.  While Tatyana is polite, she treats him with no particular regard, which drives Onegin mad with love for her.  Eventually, after dogging her like a puppy, he writes her a letter, exposing his feelings.  He expected to touch Tatyana’s heart, as he had in her youth, but surprise! she was furious at what he had done.  When he finally confronts her at her house, she chastizes him and tells him, though she loves him, she is married and will remain faithful to her husband for life.

Onegin proposes to Tatyana
late 19th century illustration
by Pavel Sokolov (source Wikipedia)

Thoughts:

In chapter 7, Tatyana finally begins to grow up.  The duel appears to precipitate the change, but reading Onegin’s books in a slow thoughtful manner, in direct contrast to her initial quick infatuation, demonstrates a maturing of soul.  Having to leave the comfort of her childhood home, also forces her to go down the path towards womanhood.

Chapter 8 certainly gives us a sense of how Tatyana’s view of Onegin has altered.  While she still retains the emotion of girlish love, she sees his character clearly.

The second reading of this poem (with a different translation) has certainly made specific situations and the sentiments of the characters come more alive for me.  I’ll write a review soon to summarize my discoveries!

Paradise Lost Read-Along Book V and VI

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Paradise Lost Read-Along

Book V

Eve awakes, disturbed by the dream she had experienced and relates it in detail to Adam, who tries to comfort her by minimizing its importance.  The reader is left with this beautiful and poignant image:

“So cheered he his fair spouse, and she was cheered
But silently a gentle tear let fall
From either eye, and wiped them with her hair;
Two other precious drops that ready stood,
Each in their crystal sluice, he, ere they fell,
Kissed as the gracious signs of sweet remorse
And pious awe, that feared to have offended.”

God sends the angel Raphael to the bower of Adam and Eve to warn them of the treacherous foe near them and to remind them of their freedom as human beings to choose right from wrong.  Raphael arrives in great splendour:

“A Seraph winged.  Six wings he wore, to shade
His lineaments divine:  the pair that clad
Each shoulder broad came mantling o’er his breast
With regal ornament; the middle pair
Girt like a starry zone his waist, and round
Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold
And colours dipped in Heaven; the third his feet
Shadowed from either heel with feathered mail,
Sky-tinctured grain.  Like Maia’s son he stood,
And shook his plumes, that heavenly fragrance filled 
The circuit wide ……”

Eve begins to prepare choice delicacies for their visitor and the reader gets more evidence of the hierarchical structure of the poem:

“Nearer his (Raphael’s) presence, Adam, though not awed,
Yet with submiss approach and reverence meek,
As to a superior nature, bowing low ..”

Potent images of the delightful beauty of the garden abound.  Raphael takes a moment to caution Adam with regard to his obedience.  Again free will is emphasized:

“…….. That thou art happy, owe to God;
That thou continuest such, owe to thyself.”

God has given man happiness, but it is in man’s power to keep it or lose it based upon his choices.

Raphael then begins to relate the story of the war of the angels in Heaven, telling of Satan’s jealousy of the Son’s elevation.  Satan counsels his followers to “cast off the yoke”, stating that “if not equal all, yet free, equally free.”  But Abdiel, a Seraphim, abhors Satan’s “counterfeited truth” and delivers a heated speech condemning his evil words.  When mocked by the rebel angels, “with retorted scorn his back he turned on those proud towers, to swift destruction doomed.”

Raphael conversing with Adam and Eve
by John Martin (1826)

Book VI

Civil war rages in Heaven.  Satan and Abdiel have a battle of words, Satan stating that it is liberty that he is fighting for, and mocking those who are lazy and choose only to serve, whereupon Abdiel retorts:

“……………. This is servitude
To serve the unwise, or him who hath rebelled
Against his worthier, as thine now serve thee,
Thyself not free, but to thyself enthralled;
Yet lewdly dar’st our ministering upbraid.
Reign thou in Hell, thy kingdom …….  ” (178-183)

The battle scenes reminded me so clearly of the battle scenes in The Iliad.  Satan has “all his right side” sheered by the sword of Michael and “first knows pain.”  His removal from the field is modelled on the rescue of Hector during one of the battles in The Iliad.  Then:

“Gnashing for anguish, and despite, and shame
To find himself not matchless, and his pride
Humbled by such rebuke, so far beneath
His confidence to equal God in power.”

Michael & Satan
by Guido Reni (c. 1636)
source Wikipedia

Like all Spirits, he is soon healed and withdraws to make a huge machine (a cannon?) to enable them to gain “honour, dominion, glory and renown.”  Honestly, the next part I had a difficult time figuring out what was going on.  It sounded like Heaven’s angels were easy targets, so they retreated into the mountains, lifted up the very same mountains and hills, and flung them onto the rebel angels & their war weapon, burying them beneath the mountains’ flinty bases, and making their escape labourious and painful.  On the third day, God sends the Son into battle but Satan will not give over:

“Insensate, hope conceiving from despair.
In Heavenly Spirits could such perverseness dwell?
But to convince the proud what signs avail,
Or wonders move the obdurate to relent?
They, hardened more by what might most reclaim,
Grieving to see his glory, at the sight
Took envy, and, aspiring to his height,
Stood re-embattled fierce, by force or fraud
Weening to prosper, and at length prevail
Against God and Messiah, or to fall
In universal ruin last ………”

Satan prefers destruction; he will not comprise one iota!  Yet the Son of God routs the evil forces with little effort:

“Yet half his strength, he put not forth, but checked
His thunder in mid-volley, for he meant
Not to destroy but root them out of Heaven.”

Ejected from Heaven in disgrace, Satan and his angels fall nine days before being buried in the pit of Hell.  At the end of Raphael’s story, he once again cautions Adam against disobedience.

“Of those too high aspiring who rebelled
With Satan; he who envies now thy state,
Who now is plotting how he may seduce
Thee also from obedience, that, with him
Bereaved of happiness, thou may’st partake
His punishment, eternal misery,
……………….
But listen not to his temptations; warn
Thy weaker, let it profit thee to have heard,
By terrible example, the reward
Of disobedience; firm they might have stood,
Yet fell; remember, and fear to transgress.”

Michael casts out the rebel angels
by Gustave Doré
source Wikipedia

Thoughts:

I really like Abdiel.  He was the only one to stand up to Satan and all his rebel angels, possibly endangering himself, yet confront them he did!  He also is the first to engage Satan during the battle and, speaking words of truth, certainly puts him in his place.

Milton gives us a beautiful image of Raphael, with his six wings almost singing a breeze, wafting a heavenly fragrance that must have been like pure spring.

Satan, as a character, is extremely interesting, yet not particularly complex.  Time after time he ignores the evidence in front of him and is certain of victory, or that his own wishes are impossible to deny.  Milton refers often to his “pride” but it is something much more nefarious and eternally damaged. Truth is simply inconceivable to him, he cannot even get close to it.  It is fascinating to watch in a rather unsettling way.

Eugene Onegin Read-Along – Chapters 5 an 6

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Marian @ Tanglewood’s Read-Along

Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5

Ah, broken-hearted Tatyana!  Suffering from unrequited passion for Onegin, Tatyana takes up yet another romantic diversion of superstition. Cats, moons, cards, stars, monks and fleeting hares, all set her heart palpitating with a foreboding of calamity.   She dreams a dream in which a huge bear helps her cross a raging river and takes her to a hut in the woods, placing her inside before disappearing.  Numerous fantastical creatures are revelling and among them, Onegin, the master of the party.  He calls Tatyana ‘his’, Olga arrives with Lensky, yet soon a heated discussion begins between Onegin and Lensky.  Onegin produces a knife and Lensky falls.  Awakening, Tatyana wonders about the symbolism of her vision but it is her name day and time for the party!  Lenksy and Onegin arrive late.  Initially Tatyana’s girlish discomfort and pain irritate Onegin, but later he takes pity on her.  Yet boredom is his boon companion and he looks for something to alleviate his ennui.  Olga!  He flirts with her, Olga is receptive but Lensky is horrified and enraged.

Chapter 6

With bitter indignation, Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel.  Onegin accepts.  Yet when Lensky speaks with Olga there is evidence that she is reasonably oblivious to the importance he places on her actions with regard to Onegin and slight doubt fills his mind.  However, the challenge has been issued and the duel must go ahead.  They pace, aim and fire and Lensky is shot dead.  Sense returns to Onegin and he feels horror at what he had done.  Pushkin very skillfully puts the reader in the place of Onegin, allowing us to search his emotions upon this terrible act.  He then muses on Lensky’s fate and on some repercussions it will cause, closing with sorrow and regret over the unnecessary death of the young poet.

Onegin by Dmitry Kardovsky
1909
source Wikipedia

How do you interpret Tatyana’s dream?  Any ideas as to why it is usually omitted from major adaptations?

Tatyana’s dream is the foreshadowing of the duel.  My guess as to why it is usually omitted is that it is not really necessary to the story and, I think, visually may take away from it.  On paper though, it is effective and interesting.

Chapter 6 finds us in the middle of sudden disputes and high drama.  What might be the characters’ motivations for such extreme actions?  Is it substance, or superficiality?  Is anybody right or wrong — and if so, who?

The tragedy of the last chapter is that really no one wants the duel.  Tatyana, if she had known about it, would have been horrified and tried to stop it; the same with Olga.  After Lensky realized that Olga was innocent (or at least appeared innocent) in the seduction, his anger and resentment faded and there was a regret about his decision.  Onegin also mentally repented of his callous actions of the night before, yet even so, his pride demanded that he continue on the calamitous course that was set by Lensky’s youthful zeal.  The lack of maturity in both males characters lead to serious consequences.

Reactions or predictions?

I was a little puzzled during the duel scene.  My translation says:

“With quiet, firm and measured tread,
Not aiming yet, the foes took boldly
The first four steps that lay ahead —
Four fateful steps.  The space decreasing,
Onegin then, while still not ceasing
His slow advance, was first to raise
His pistols with a level gaze.
Five pace more, while Lensky waited
To close one eye, and only then,
To take his aim …… And that was when
Onegin fired ……”

They started off pacing boldly and equally, yet Onegin was the first to raise his pistol. And then there were five paces after that.  Why did Onegin have his pistol ready at four paces and Lensky had to still raise his after nine?  Was it a sign of Lensky’s ineptness with duelling?  In any case, I found it confusing and a little awkward.  I wonder if it’s just my translation.  Can anyone enlighten me?  Are there any duelling enthusiasts out there? 😉

Any quotes stand out?

He could have shown some spark of feeling
Instead of bristling like a beast;
He should have spoken words of healing,
Disarmed youth’s heart …… or tried at least.
‘Too late,’ he thought, ‘the moment’s wasted …..

It’s like a Greek chorus singing the upcoming tragedy.

Son Excellence, Eugène Rougon by Émile Zola

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“For a moment the President remained standing amidst the slight commotion which his entrance had caused.”

I had met Eugène Rougon in Zola’s first book of the Rougon-Macquart series, The Fortune of the Rougons.  The oldest son of  Pierre and Felicité Rougon, he had been stationed in Paris, working for the cause of Louis-Napoléon Buonaparte as Emperor Napoleon III.  In Son Excellence, Eugène Rougon, we encounter Rougon as a man in disgrace, a man who has offended the Emperor and who has decided to resign before he is formally removed from office.  As he packs up his documents, a myriad of characters flow in and out of his office, almost in the formation of a dance, and each individual is as colourful as the next.  Yet as the respective characters speak their piece, the dance turns into a circling of sharks, as they all wonder how their position will be affected by Rougon’s fall and how much he can still impact their various personal causes.

The book chronicles the political scene in Paris during the government of the Second Empire under Emperor Napoleon III.  Through Rougon, we see the political machinery grinding through the career of a politician; his fall from favour, his subsequent rise through the help of his sycophantic supporters, their fickle desertion, and so forth.  Behind the glamorous facade of the Second Empire, manipulation, betrayal, coercion, conspiracy and fraud seep from between its seams, and only the clever and opportunistic will survive.

Chameleon-like Rougon is a man who knows how to bend with the force of political volatility.  Initially, after giving his resignation, he is slow, methodical and patient, rather like a toad waiting in the mud for an insect to come buzzing around his head.  Yet when he regains his title as minister, he comes alive; robust, loud, and outspoken, he soaks in the approbation of those around him while ruling with a heart of iron.  Yet Zola does a marvellous job of retaining his provincial nature; his sometimes wild, untamed speeches and stubborn and shortsighted actions reveal a man who has not been able to completely shake off the country dust of his origins.

Pont de la Tournelle, Paris
by Stanilas Lépine
(source Wikipedia)

Zola’s prose is so exquisitely compact, yet with it he constructs such a wide scope for the reader.  I felt I was really present during the baptismal procession for the Imperial Prince; I sensed the barely suppressed excitement in the air, the feel of the crowds and people pressing against me, the impatience, the festivity.  Zola doesn’t just allow us to view the Second Empire with words; he takes us right into its grandeur, its character and the various intricacies that gnaw at its foundations.  

This novel is not amongst Zola’s most popular books of the Rougon-Macquart series, but I really, really enjoyed it for its dynamic appeal and attention to detail.  Can Zola write a poor novel?  Somehow I don’t think so.

(translation by Ernest A. Vizetelly)

Other Rougon-Macquart Series Reviews (Zola’s recommended order):