2. Kalinov is a fictitious place. Ostrovsky used the same place name for his earlier play The Thunderstorm (written in 1859, published in 1860).
3. A folksong with several variants, dating as early as 1799.
4. Described is a dramatization of an old Russian folksong “Down Mother Volga” (Vniz po matushke po Volge). The actors are ataman (Cossack chief), pirates, a rich landowner and his family. This dramatization has been dated as early as 1814.
5. A play (Dvumuzhnitsa, 1832) by Alexander A. Shakhovskoi (1777-1846).
6. A variant of a folksong recorded by T.I. Filippov (40 narodnykh pesen, Moscow, 1882).
7. Ostrovsky had noted such a custom in the town Torzhok (considered by some a model for the fictional town Kalinov) when he participated in an ethnological expedition in the upper Volga valley in 1856-57.
8. A romance in the repertory of tavern guitarists. Recorded as early as 1839.
9. At one time brigands took refuge in the Bryn woods, dense woods along the Bryn River in Kaluga Province.
10. From the song “Don’t rage, stormy winds” (Ne bushuite, vetry buinye).
11. As the text suggests, it was possible for a recruit to avoid army service by hiring a volunteer replacement or by buying an exemption from the government.
AFTERWORD
Ostrovsky probably began work on An Ardent Heart (Goriachee serdtse) in the summer of 1868, finishing it in December of that year. It was published in the No. 1, 1869 issue of Fatherland Notes (Otechestvennye zapiski).
The play premiered in Moscow on January 15, 1869, with only moderate success. The St. Petersburg premiere on January 29, 1869, enjoyed no success and was followed by only a few performances there. Its failure was a crushing disappointment for Ostrovsky. The play’s greatest success came with Stanislavsky’s memorable staging in 1926, which highlighted the play’s satirical strain with abundant grotesquerie and high jinks.
Ostrovsky wished to revise the play for his collected works but did not manage to do so.
An Ardent Heart has two basic themes, which Ostrovsky combines with some skill, though ultimately, in my assessment, unsuccessfully. The more obvious one, because of the title, is that of Parasha, the young woman of the ardent heart. When Parasha loves, she commits herself fully, though eventually even she has to give up on the unworthy Vasya. Her independent spirit is as prominent as her loyalty in love. She is ready, almost eager, to fight and to endure privations for the freedom to marry the man of her choice. All of which stirs us with sympathetic admiration.
All the same, it seems to me, Parasha’s revolt (as some have considered it) is not nearly so lasting or deep as that of the generally outwardly passive Katerina Kabanov of The Thunderstorm, who invites comparison if only because both women’s oppression takes place in the same fictional town of Kalinov. Katerina, partly because she is married, feels hemmed in and oppressed by an entire way of life sanctioned or permitted by a society largely hostile or indifferent to her. Whereas Parasha has no real problem with society in general. Parasha’s problem is her stepmother, Matryona, who would deny to Parasha the freedom customary in that locale for unmarried young women to circulate (paradoxical as that perhaps might seem in view of the general confinement of married women). In this regard, then, Parasha is not a rebel but a conservative who insists only on rights approved by society. And when that obstacle (Matryona) is removed, Parasha quickly adapts to the domestic situation, formally asking her father’s consent to her marital choice.
While basically we are to take Parasha seriously, it strikes me that there is also some undercutting that suggests a possible parodying of true love struggling against odds. The dialogue between Parasha and her two suitors, especially with Vasya, at times verges on naive silliness, such as when Parasha urges Vasya to volunteer for dangerous combat to earn glory. It is clear that Ostrovsky wanted this trio to be folksy: their associations with folk music help them to gain the audience’s sympathy vis-a-vis the mostly negative characters of Kuroslepov, Gradoboev, Khlynov, Matryona and Narkis. While Vasya proves unworthy of Parasha, he is not really evil, but weak.
Aristarkh, though he serves Khlynov, is certainly on the side of the angels in his sentiments, but he knows his place and, while preserving a limited self respecting independence, will not stick his neck out because he is sure it will do no good.
The real strength of the play in the history of its performance (and in my view also in the reading of it) has been the social theme, specifically the theme of corrupting power as embodied in Kuroslepov, Gradoboev, and especially Khlynov. Each in his own way not only exercises some degree of power but revels in it (Kuroslepov revelling less than the others). The power of Kuroslepov and Khlynov is fueled by money, which, incidentally, is a constant concern in Ostrovsky’s plays.
Kuroslepov at this stage is generally no longer a threat to anyone, since in his dotage he has largely withdrawn to a somnolent state amounting to quasi-vegetation. Nevertheless, power over those in his domain is at his constant disposal, and he does not hesitate without any proof of guilt to have Vasya sentenced to army duty on mere suspicion, nor to send Gavrilo packing without back wages simply because Gavrilo is associated with Vasya. While Kuroslepov is upset by the theft of his money (a loss he can easily afford), he is not a miser. It is not the glitter of money but the status it gives which matters to him. When Gradoboev asks Kuroslepov if he knows what honor is, Kuroslepov replies, “What honor is? I’ve made my pile, there’s your honor. The greater the capital, the greater the honor.”
Gradoboev is a shrewd sadist who enjoys exploiting his power derived from his authority as chief of police. In his domain the law is basically irrelevant since he himself is the law. Take the oft-noted dispensation of group “justice” in Act Three. Gradoboev starts off with a familiar proverb (“To God above it’s high/Our Tsar on earth’s not nigh”) indicative of how legally vulnerable were those in the provinces, which were mostly free of any ongoing central supervision. After scaring the people with books of law statutes, Gradoboev, sure of the answer, asks them, “So, my dear friends, what do you want? Should I try you by the laws or the way I like, as God puts it in my heart?”
However, Gradoboev is properly submissive with those more powerful than he is. When he tries to match himself with Khlynov in Act Four it is simply because he doesn’t yet realize how powerful Khlynov is. And Gradoboev ingratiates himself with Kuroslepov, being on his side no matter what, because Kuroslepov can reward him financially. Although, to do him justice, he does display a certain proper dignity with Kuroslepov, feeling that the gratuity for special services is only proper—and most likely his salary is inadequate.
Khlynov was undoubtedly modeled on a well-known contemporary, G. I. Khludov, who performed weird stunts and even had a gentleman with a mustache in his entourage. Khlynov was originally a peasant and in terms of culture still is. A nouveau riche, he now goes all out for self-indulgence, showing off or doing whatever happens to suit his whim at the moment. Still, happiness eludes him. In his attempts to escape his empty spiritual self or his melancholic spells he has to seek help from outside himself.
But what Ostrovsky emphasizes is not Khlynov as an emotionally pathological individual but rather his danger in society. Khlynov knows that in his milieu his wealth guarantees that to him all is permitted. He makes it crystal clear to Gradoboev, the representative of the law, that he, Khlynov, is above the law and has foolproof ways to bribe the governor and the governor’s wife too. Boorish and ignorant though he be, however, Khlynov does have native intelligence; he did not rise from peasant to rich contractor by sheer chance. This intelligence in the service of his self-centered form of madness makes him even more dangerous.
Obviously negative characters, Matryona and Narkis can probably be dismissed simply as melodramatically black villains with no redeeming traits.
The plot is more intricate and has more suspense than in most of Ostrovsky’s plays, though the suspense is largely concentrated in the events at the
end. That said, much of the play is slow-moving with a good deal of sociological stamping in place.
The ending is for Ostrovsky a rare happy one, without the usual disturbing undertone of near tragedy averted in effect by sheer chance. To be sure, chance saved the situation for Parasha, but the saving events occur in the penultimate act, and their very fairy-tale nature influences us not to worry very much from then on. At the end the virtuous Parasha and the reluctant knight in shining armor, Gavrilo, receive their just reward, each other, and presumably live happily ever after.
The play seems overcrowded and it remains a question whether the vaudeville humor is helpful or harmful, even if Stanislavsky’s exploitation of the play’s comic elements made his production a sensational success at the box office. The entire forest scene, which strikes me as both melodrama and parody of melodrama, is quite contrived, a play within a play to usher in the denouement. It is cleverly done, but basically it’s an extended deus ex machina device.
Nevertheless, despite its imperfections, put in perspective An Ardent Heart is rightly considered a strong play, mainly because of its convincing satirical portraits of Kuroslepov, Gradoboev and Khlynov.
WITHOUT A DOWRY
A Drama in Four Acts
(1879)
CAST OF CHARACTERS*
KHARÍTA IGNÁTYEVNA OGUDÁLOV (MME. OGUDALOV). A middle-aged widow. Dressed elegantly but daringly, not in keeping with her age.
LARÍSA DMÍTRIYEVNA OGUDÁLOV. Mme. Ogudalov’s unmarried daughter. Dressed richly but modestly.
MÓKY PARMÉNYCH KNÚROV. One of the entrepreneurs of the time. Elderly, rich.
VASÍLY DANÍLYCH VOZHEVÁTOV (VÁSYA). A very young man. One of the representatives of a rich trading firm. Dressed in Western European style.
YÚLY KAPITÓNYCH KARANDYSHÓV (pronounced Karandyshóff). Young official of modest means.
SERGÉY SERGÉYICH PARÁTOV. An imposing gentleman shipowner. Over thirty.
ROBINSON.
GAVRÍLO. Club bartender and owner of a coffee house on the boulevard.
IVÁN. Waiter in the coffee house.
ILYÁ. A gypsy.
MANSERVANT of Mme. Ogudalov.
YEFROSÍNYA POTÁPOVNA. Aunt of Karandyshov.
GYPSY MEN and WOMEN.
* Meanings which probably or possibly would be suggested to Ostrovsky’s contemporaries: Ogudalov—swindler; Knurov—boar; Vozhevatov—pleasant, polite; Karandyshov—short stature; Paratov—strong and fast (in connection with dogs and horses).
Robinson would certainly suggest Robinson Crusoe, especially in the play’s context. Near the end of Act One Paratov says that Robinson’s real name is Arkády Shchastlívtsev and that he is an actor from the provinces. Ostrovsky’s contemporaries would have recognized him immediately as a character in Ostrovsky’s earlier play The Forest (1871), where he was a vagabond ex-actor who had played comic roles. Shchastlivtsev suggests “happy,” and Arkady is derived from the Greek place name Arcadia, traditionally symbolizing rustic bliss. Neputóvy (Robinson’s friend, who is merely mentioned) suggests “dissolute.” Neputovy was also the name of a character in an earlier Ostrovsky play, namely At the Jolly Spot (1865).
Especially significant is the fact that Mme. Ogudalov’s first name Kharita as well as her father’s first name Ignat (as is evident from her patronymic Ignatyevna) were often names of gypsies.
ACT ONE
The action takes place in the present [1878], in the large town of Bryakhimov1 on the Volga.
A boulevard on the high bank of the Volga, with an open area in front of a coffee house. On the right of the actors is an entrance to the coffee house. On their left are trees. In the background is a low iron railing, beyond it a sweeping view of the Volga. with its forests, villages, etc. In front of the coffee house are tables and chairs: one table on the right, close to the coffee house, another on the left.
Gavrilo is standing in the doorway of the coffee house. Ivan is tidying up the furniture.
IVAN. Not a soul on the boulevard.
GAVRILO. It’s always like that on holidays. We keep to the old ways here. After late mass everybody puts away meat pie and cabbage soup, then they treat their guests with hospitality, and after that it’s seven hours of rest.
IVAN. What do you mean, seven! More like three or four. Anyway, it’s a good custom.
GAVRILO. And then about vesper time they wake up and drink tea till they’re bored stiff.
IVAN. Bored stiff! What’s there to be bored about?
GAVRILO. You just sit down by the samovar and drink boiling hot tea a couple of hours, then you’ll find out. A man gets all covered over with sweat, and he starts to get bored… So that’s when he says good-bye to his tea and drags himself out on the boulevard for some fresh air and a walk. This is the time when the high-class folk take their walk; look, over there you can see Moky Parmenych Knurov, stretching his legs.
IVAN. Every morning he paces back and forth on the boulevard, as if he’d made a vow. Why does he go to so much trouble?
GAVRILO. For the exercise.
IVAN. But what’s the exercise for?
GAVRILO. To work up an appetite. He needs the appetite for dinner. You should see the dinners he has! Do you think he could eat dinners like that without exercise?
IVAN. Why is he so quiet all the time?
GAVRILO. “Quiet”! You’re really something… How can you expect him to go on carrying conversations when he has all those millions! Who’s he supposed to talk with? There’s only two or three people in town he can talk with, so he keeps quiet. And that’s why he doesn’t stay here very long, wouldn’t stay at all if he didn’t have business. For talking he goes to Moscow, to St. Petersburg, and abroad too; he has more elbow room there.
IVAN. There comes Vasily Danilych from over the hill. He’s rich too, but he talks a lot.
GAVRILO. Vasily Danilych is still young, still on the timid side, but when he gets older he’ll act like God too.
Knurov enters from the left and, not paying any attention to the bows of Gavrilo and Ivan, sits down at a table, takes out a French newspaper from his pocket, and reads it. Vozhevatov enters from the right.
VOZHEVATOV (bowing respectfully). Moky Parmenych, I have the honor of greeting you!
KNUROV. Ah, Vasily Danilych! (He holds out a hand.) Where did you come from?
VOZHEVATOV. From the dock. (He sits down.)
Gavrilo comes closer.
KNUROV. Were you meeting somebody?
VOZHEVATOV. I was supposed to but didn’t. I had a telegram yesterday from Sergey Sergeyich Paratov. I’m buying a steamboat from him.
GAVRILO. It’s not the Swallow, Vasily Danilych?
VOZHEVATOV. Yes, it’s the Swallow. What about it?
GAVRILO. It goes fast, it’s a strong boat.
VOZHEVATOV. But Sergey Sergeyich let me down, he didn’t come.
GAVRILO. You were expecting him to come on the Flier, but maybe he’ll come on his own boat, the Swallow.
IVAN. Vasily Danilych, there’s another boat coming down the river.
VOZHEVATOV. A lot of boats sail the Volga.
IVAN. That’s Sergey Sergeyich coming.
VOZHEVATOV. You think so?
IVAN. It looks like him, sir… The paddle boxes on the Swallow stand out a lot.
VOZHEVATOV. That means you’d be making out paddle boxes at five miles.
IVAN. I can make them out at seven miles, sir… And it’s coming fast, it’s clear the owner’s with it.
VOZHEVATOV. And how far is it?
IVAN. It’s come out from behind the island. It’s making a lot of headway, a lot.
GAVRILO. You say it’s making a lot of headway?
IVAN. A lot. An awful lot! It runs faster than the Flier, they’ve timed it.
GAVRILO. It’s him, sir.
VOZHEVATOV (to Ivan). You tell us when they start coming aside.
IVAN. Yes, sir… I suppose they’ll shoot from the cannon.
GAVRILO. They’re sure to
.
VOZHEVATOV. What cannon?
GAVRILO. He has his own barges anchored in the middle of the Volga.
VOZHEVATOV. I know.
GAVRILO. One barge has a cannon. Whenever somebody meets Sergey Sergeyich or sees him off they always fire a salute. (Looking beyond the coffee house.) There’s one of Chirkov’s carriages going for him now, sir. They must have let Chirkov know he’d be coming, for Chirkov himself is on the box. That’s him they’re going for, sir.
VOZHEVATOV. But how do you know it’s for him?
GAVRILO. They’ve got four pacers lined up, it’s really for him. Who else would Chirkov make up four horses for? It’s even scary to look at them… they’re like lions… all four with snaffle bits! And the harness, the harness! They’re going for him, sir.
IVAN. And there’s a gypsy sitting on the box with Chirkov, he has a fancy Cossack coat on, and his belt’s so tight he could snap in two.
GAVRILO. They’re going after him, sir. It couldn’t be anyone else with four horses like those. It’s him, sir.
KNUROV. Paratov lives in style.
VOZHEVATOV. Whatever else, he has plenty of style.
KNUROV. Are you buying the boat cheap?
VOZHEVATOV. Cheap, Moky Parmenych.
KNUROV. Yes, of course; otherwise, what’s the advantage of buying? Why is he selling it?
VOZHEVATOV. I suppose he doesn’t find any profit in it.
KNUROV. Of course, how could he! That’s no business for a gentleman. But you’ll make a profit, especially if you buy it cheap.
VOZHEVATOV. It suits our purpose; we have a lot of cargo down the river.
KNUROV. Maybe he needs the money… he’s a great spender, you know.
VOZHEVATOV. That’s his business. We have the money ready.
KNUROV. Yes, with money a man can do business. (With a smile.) A man who has a lot of money, Vasily Danilych, that man’s in good shape.
Without a Dowry and Other Plays Page 20
