Pushkin and Eugene Onegin Part 4

RUT 2100 1823, in Odessa, Pushkin did well for about a year and then he decided having an affair with the mayor?s wife would be a good idea. This time, when he got in trouble, he was sent to North Russia. Mikhailovkoye He ended up inheriting his grandfather?s estate out in the North Russian boonies He was under village arrest Martha Stuart has nothing to do with this conversation. He pretty much got off easy, but Pushkin did not see it that way being a city boy. He missed the big city and he was deeply in the boonies While there, one person with him all the time was Arina, the old nursemaid. In the passages where Gene in our story is bored, they were written during this time in Pushkin?s life. Arina even appears in the story in a minor role at one point. He?s under Northern Exile The Decembrist Revolt The date was December, 1825 The Tsar, Alexander I, died and he didn?t have any kids. The two candidates that were up to inherit the throne were his two brothers, Nikolai and Constantine. They are very much alike, and Constantine was governor of vast parts of Poland and Nikolai was living in St. Petersburg. Don?t confuse Nikolai with Nicholas the II (the one who had to deal with Rasputin and all that), but he did become Nicholas I. Nikolai, or Nicholas I, became tsar Constantine was Roman Catholic, and whichever religion the king/tsar was, was the way the country went. Because Russian Orthodox was what everyone wanted to keep, Constantine was doomed from the start Young Russian guys, army officers in the Napoleonic Wars Alexander I had the big conference in Paris. These young guys had not only seen how the French lived, but they also saw that even under the Restoration of the French monarchy France was much freer than Russia ever was Alexander Pushkin December 1825, and the young guys got a big crowd together in front of the Winter Palace A few intellectuals and army officers led the way They staged this big demonstration, but Nikolai sent out the troops and they shot first and asked questions later. They came out and mowed everyone down. He then pursued the people who fled and if they didn?t hang them, they were dishonorably discharged or sent to trial Pushkin wasn?t in town, he was under village arrest Ch. 5, Stanza 7 or 8 Girls are playing tarot cards, a new year?s game. Romanticism: horror story; horror movie. Edger Allan Poe was the one who perfected the horror story Pg. 114, The day the Earth Stood Still Pg. 116, Tanya runs from a bear, and the bear picks her up in her front paws and runs off with her Pg. 125, Gene shows up at Tanya?s birthday party. He was suppose to stay away for quite some time. Gene begins to think that he is a piece of shoot for ruining Tanya?s party. Just for laughs, he dances with Olga, and there is no serious flirtation going on her. Olga didn?t think she was flirting either. Lensky freaks out. Zaretsky is a fighter and he threatens to ruin Gene?s reputation if he does not fight him. Gene shoots Lensky and blows him away, as they have a duel. Summary In our pages for today, Tanya tries to use New Year?s games (Tarot) to tell the future. Then she has a Romantic-style nightmare, filled with horror-style story incidents, such as a beautiful young woman who faints and who is carried away by a monster (a bear walking upright). At Tanya?s party, Gene shows up and bored, very lightly flirts with Olga on the dance floor, but no one, not Olga and not gene take this at all seriously?except Lensky, who freaks out and later challenges Gene to a duel. The duel could have easily been avoided?if Olga or Tanya had found out or if Gene and Lensky could have realized that the duel was sill and patched up their quarrel. But so he won?t look like a coward, Gene fights the duel and kills Lensky.