When I was hospitalised with chronic depression, many years ago, I remember looking in shop windows and mirrors and seeing a person I did not recognise. I often used to 'see' my mother or my father and only later realised, when I was well, that I was seeing certain of their characteristics in myself - if that makes sense. A form of 'other worldliness' can oversome a severe depressive due to their heightened awareness in both mind and body. The grass seems greener, the birds sing louder etc etc. You are 'yourself' and yet you are more than yourself. I hope I make some sort of sense. I am not very good at explaining such things - I need ziki!
IlanaSimons wrote:
Golyadkin follows his double through the streets, past his front door, right to his bedroom.
He's finally seeing that there's a version of himself that others see but that he's never considered his own.
"The hero of our story dashed into his lodging beside himself; without taking off his hat or coat he crossed the little passage and stood still in the doorway of his room, as though thunderstruck. All his presentiments had come true. All that he had dreaded and surmised was coming to pass in reality. His breath failed him, his head was in a whirl. The stranger, also in his coat and hat, was sitting before him on his bed, and with a faint smile, screwing up his eyes, nodded to him in a friendly way. Mr. Golyadkin wanted to scream, but could not - to protest in some way, but his strength failed him. His hair stood on end, and he almost fell down with horror. And, indeed, there was good reason. He recognised his nocturnal visitor. The nocturnal visitor was no other than himself - Mr. Golyadkin himself, another Mr. Golyadkin, but absolutely the same as himself - in fact, what is called a double in every respect. . ." (52).
Yes, 'vodka' is apparently derived from the word voda for water because it was originally a mixture of pure alcohol and water.
Laurel wrote:
Or, as we say, vodka.
Choisya wrote:
My understanding is that Russians 'diminutise' a lot of things Laurel, not just names? For instance diminutives for water are 'voditsa' and 'vodichka'.
Laurel wrote:
Choisya wrote:
Ys, that is a good idea Sumayyaa - many Russian novels carry a list of characters and their diminutives (nicknames) at the beginning of novels because of this confusion. Here are some common Russian name diminutives:-
http://www.doukhobor.org/Commonnames.htm
Laurel may be able to tell us more about diminutives in general.
SumayyaA wrote:
Hi ELee - Crime and Punishment was the first novel I read by Dostoevsky. I found that by going back and writing down the names of the characters and something to identify the characther helped a lot with my unfamiliarity with Russian names. Eventually you get used to it and no longer need to refer to your list of characters.
Thanks Ilana, for putting down the list of characters here.
I haven't seen many diminutives yet in this story, but we are dealing here not with children, family members, or close friends but mostly with business associatives, so that is to be expected. "Petrushka," the name by which Mr. Golyadkin calls his valet, is a diminutive for "Pyotr," or "Peter." In chapter 7 Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin calles Golyadkin junior the familiar "Yasha."
