Municipal General education Budgetary Institution
« High school No. 54"
Orenburg
Research topic:
« Art literary hoaxes »
Ibragimova Olga
Place of study: student of class 8A
MOBU "Secondary School No. 54"
Orenburg
Supervisor:
Kalinina Irina Borisovna
Russian language teacher
and literature
2015-2016 academic year year
1. Introduction.
1.1. Hoax - what is it?................................................. 3
1.2. Goal and objectives. ……………………………………. 4
1.3. Hypothesis…………………………………………...4
1.4. Object of study. ……………………………....4
1.5. Subject of research. ……………………………..4
1.6. Research methods. ……………………………...4
2. Main part.
2.1.1. Why literary hoaxhas not yet been describedas an independent form of art?......5
2.1.2.Literary hoax is a synthetic art form. .......6
General principles of the art of literary mystification.
2.2.1. Reasons for hoaxes. ………………………7
2.2.2. Special Moves literary hoax...8
2.2.3. Unmasking hoaxes…………………....9
Revealed literary hoaxes……….9
3. Conclusion.
4. List of used literature.
Introduction.
Hoax - what is it?
Once in a literature lesson, when we were studying life and creative path A.S. Pushkin, literature teacher Irina Borisovna, mentioning the poet’s uncle, Vasily Lvovich Pushkin, who at one time himself was famous poet, said that he was the owner of the manuscript of the monument ancient Russian literature“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, which burned down during the fire of Moscow in 1812 and that there is a version that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was Vasily Lvovich himself. During this period in Russian and European literature there were a lot literary forgeries or literary hoaxes. And since hoaxes are interesting to me, I decided to continue working on this topic.
It is necessary to clarify what literary hoax is. This is usually the name given to literary works whose authorship is deliberately attributed to some person, real or fictitious, or is presented as folk art. At the same time, literary hoax seeks to preserve the author’s stylistic style, to recreate - or create from scratch - his creative image. Hoaxes can be carried out for completely different purposes: for the sake of profit, to shame critics or in the interests of literary struggle, from the author’s lack of confidence in his abilities or for certain ethical reasons. The main difference between a hoax and, for example, a pseudonym is the fundamental self-delimitation of the real author from his own work.
Mystification has always been, to one degree or another, characteristic of literature. Strictly speaking, what is a literary work if not an attempt to convince someone - a reader, a critic, oneself - of the existence of a reality invented by the writer? Therefore, it is not surprising that not only worlds invented by someone have appeared, but also fake works and invented writers. Everyone who was guided by the desire to attribute to the author a work that was not written by him stopped at creating the work and putting on it not their own names, but the name of the mentioned author. Others did not try to publish poems under own name, and always signed their names fictional characters. Still others called their poems “translations” from foreign authors. Some authors went further, becoming “foreigners” writing in Russian. I wanted to learn more about the art of literary hoaxes. I turned to the Internet and found little-known and even unique publications, on the basis of which I wrote my scientific work.
Purpose my work is: to identify the general patterns of the art of literary hoax
Tasks:
Find out as much information as possible about literary hoaxes.
Reveal the features of the art of literary hoaxes.
Describe the features of the art of literary hoaxes.
Prove that literary hoax is a synthetic art form.
Identify as many reasons as possible for the emergence of literary hoaxes.
Determine how a hoax is exposed.
Find as many literary hoaxes as possible.
Systematize the collected material.
Research hypothesis: The art of literary hoaxes is a synthetic art that has existed for a very long time and has its own laws and canons.
Object of study: Literary hoaxes.
Subject of research: Literary hoaxes as art.
Research methods:
Comprehensive analysis- consideration of an object with different points vision.
The imperial method is the collection of data and information about the subject of research.
Data processing method.
The induction method is a method in which a general conclusion is built on the basis of partial premises
The generalization method is a method in which the general properties of an object are established.
Main part.
Literary hoax as art.
Why is literary hoax still not described as an independent art form?
“Literary hoaxes have been around as long as literature itself.” Almost every article about literary hoaxes begins with this phrase, and it is impossible to disagree with it. As soon as books began to be published, writers appeared who wanted to play pranks on their contemporaries, and more often, on their descendants. There seems to be some kind of attractive force in “fooling” as many people as possible at the same time. "Reader, … laugh: the height of earthly pleasures, laughing at everyone from around the corner"- Pushkin wrote frankly. Of course, the reasons that pushed writers to commit hoaxes were, as a rule, more serious and deeper, but the love of humor cannot be discounted.
And here the question involuntarily comes to mind: why is literary mystification, having existed for thousands of years, still not described as an independent form of art (after all, for example, the art of war has been described - and quite thoroughly - which, like the art of mystification, is largely relies on intuition)? Most articles only tell the stories of one or another long-solved literary hoax, in best case scenario their classification is proposed based on who the literary work is attributed to: a writer, a historical person or a fictional author. Meanwhile, literary hoaxes have their own general limitations and special possibilities, their own rules and their own techniques - their own laws of the genre. Suffice it to say that in a literary hoax the work of art itself becomes an enlarged sign with which the hoaxer operates in life - in the game, and the general opinion about this work of art is the same subject of the game as the work itself. In other words, in the “table of ranks” of this game, literary hoax is higher than work of art. And this game has its own masters and losers, its own masters and even geniuses. Of course, literature is not the only art form that has misled many people; There have been hoaxers in painting and music, in archeology and cinema, and even in science. But my interests are primarily related to literature.
Literary hoax is a synthetic art form.
Is literary hoax a synthetic art form? First you need to find out what a synthetic art form is. Synthetic arts are such types artistic creativity, which are an organic fusion or a relatively free combination different types arts that form a qualitatively new and unified aesthetic whole. Indeed, if in order to write a significant literary work, talent and a pen are enough ( goose feather, pencil, typewriter, computer keyboard), then the hoaxer must also have the ability to mislead large number people outside the creation process itself literary work. If a writer masters the art of playing in the Word, then the hoaxer must also possess the art of playing in Life, since literary hoax is a collective game played both in life and in literature. Moreover, not only those who take the hoax proposed by him at face value, but also those who are “on the side” of the hoaxer, initiated into the hoax, unwittingly take part in the game. There may be few of them, one or two people, or, as in Shakespeare’s hoax, dozens, but, with rare exceptions, they always take place.
Lann E. L. "Literary mystification."
Dmitriev V.G. Those who hid their name: From the history of pseudonyms and anonyms / Dmitriev, Valentin Grigorievich, Dmitriev, V.G. - M.: Nauka, 1970. - 255s
"Alexander Pushkin. The Little Humpbacked Horse”, 3rd edition; M., ID KAZAROV, 2011
Yu. Danilin Clara Gazul \ Joseph L "Estrange \ Giakinf Maglanovich \ © 2004 FEB.
Gililov I.M. The Game of William Shakespeare, or the Mystery of the Great Phoenix (2nd edition). M.: Intl. Relationships, 2000.
Encyclopedia of pseudonyms of Russian poets.
Kozlov V.P. Secrets of falsification: A manual for university teachers and students. 2nd ed. M.: Aspect Press, 1996.
REVIEW
For the research work of Ekaterina Yurievna Parilova, a 10th grade student at the Rudnogorsk Secondary School.
Topic: “The art of literary hoaxes.”
Ekaterina Parilova's work is dedicated to the art of literary hoaxes.
There is no comprehensive survey of literary forgeries in any language. The reason is not difficult to establish: the science of literature is powerless to verify its entire archive. It is powerless because this verification presupposes the presence of primary sources, that is, manuscripts that do not raise doubts about authenticity. But what an immeasurable number of such manuscripts have been lost forever! And, as a result, the history of world literature, knowing about the falsification of many monuments, tries to forget about it.
Purpose of the study: to identify general patterns of the art of literary mystification.
Research objectives: find out as much data as possible about literary hoaxes; reveal the features of the art of literary hoaxes; describe the features of the art of literary hoaxes; prove that literary hoax is a synthetic art form; identify as many reasons as possible for the appearance of literary hoaxes; establish how a hoax is exposed; find as many literary hoaxes as possible; systematize the collected material.
When writing a research paper, the student used the following methods: 1) Complex analysis; 2) Imperial method; 3) Data processing method; 4) Method of induction; 5) Generalization method.
The work provides a rationale for the relevance of the topic under study, put forward goals, set tasks, and formulate a hypothesis; the methods, object and subject of the research are determined; a review of the literature on the topic is given. The material in the work is presented in compliance with internal logic; there is a logical relationship between sections. The author's erudition in the area under consideration is traced. In my opinion, the work has no shortcomings. I have not found any errors or inaccuracies in it. I recommend that teachers of Russian language and literature use the material from this research work.
Reviewer: Ziatdinova Tatyana Aleksandrovna, teacher of Russian language and Literature MOU"Rudnogorskaya Sosh"
textual criticism of the text is a branch philological sciences, the study of works of writing and literature in order to reconstruct the history, critically examine and establish their texts, then used for further research, interpretation, publication and other purposes.
— years of the 19th century.
A fictional “portrait” of Prutkov, created by Lev Zhemchuzhnikov, Alexander Beideman and Lev Lagorio
The authors of this hoax are also well known: poets Alexey Tolstoy (the largest contribution in quantitative terms), brothers Alexey, Vladimir and Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov. They took their idea seriously and even created a detailed biography of their hero, from which we learn that Kozma Petrovich Prutkov (1803 -1863) spent his entire life, except for his childhood and early adolescence, in public service: first in the military department, and then then in civil. He had an estate in the village “Pustynka” near the Sablino railway station, etc.
Prutkov’s aphorisms became the most popular:
If you have a fountain, shut it up; give the fountain a rest.
If you want to be happy, be it.
Drive love through the door, it will fly out the window, etc.
Prutkov’s poems turned out to be no less interesting.
My portrait
When you meet a person in the crowd,
Which is naked;*
Whose forehead is darker than the foggy Kazbek,
The step is uneven;
Whose hair is raised in disorder;
Who, crying out,
Always trembling in a nervous fit, -
Know: it's me!
Whom they sneer with ever-new anger,
From generation to generation;
From whom the crowd wears his laurel crown
Vomits madly;
Who doesn’t bow his flexible back to anyone,
Know: it's me!..
There is a calm smile on my lips,
There's a snake in my chest!
(* Option: “Which tailcoat is he wearing.” (Note by K. Prutkov
First publication - in Sovremennik, 1860, No. 3)
The experience of this literary hoax turned out to be so successful that the works of Kozma Prutkov are still published, which cannot be said about another literary hoax, whose name is Charubina de Gabriak. And how amazingly beautiful it all started!
Anastasia Tsvetaeva in her “Memoirs” described this story as follows: “Her name was Elizaveta Ivanovna Dmitrieva. She was a teacher. Very modest, ugly, homely. Max ( poet Maximilian Voloshin - Approx. V.G.) became interested in her poems, invented a way for her to become famous, created a myth about (Spanish woman?) Charubina de Gabriac, and in the radiance of this name, foreignness, imaginary beauty, her poems rose over Russia - like a new moon. And then, then people desecrated everything, destroyed it, and she no longer began to write poetry. It was a cruel day when - at the station - a group of poets was waiting for a beautiful poetess with a fiery name. An inconspicuous little woman came out of the carriage - and one of those waiting, a poet! - behaved unworthily, impermissibly. Max challenged him to a duel."
Another touch to her portrait - until the age of seven, Dmitrieva suffered from consumption, was bedridden, and remained lame for the rest of her life.
Elizaveta Dmitrieva spent the summer of 1909 in Koktebel, at Voloshin’s dacha, where the joint idea of a literary hoax was born, the sonorous pseudonym Cherubina de Gabriak and the literary mask of a mysterious Catholic beauty were invented.
Cherubina de Gabriac's success was brief and dizzying. And it’s not surprising, because she actually wrote wonderful poetry.
“In the deep furrows of the palm...”
In the deep grooves of the palm
I read life's letters:
They contain the path to the Mystic Crown
And the depths of dead flesh.
In the ring of ominous Saturn
Love is intertwined with my destiny...
Which lot will the urn fall?
Which arrow will ignite blood?
Will it fall like scarlet dew?
Having burned your lips with earthly fire?
Or it will lie as a white stripe
Under the sign of the Rose and Cross?
But she was soon exposed. Cherubina's exposure took place at the end of 1909. The poet Mikhail Kuzmin was the first to learn the truth, who managed to find out Dmitrieva's phone number. The translator von Gunther got Dmitrieva to confess to deception, and the secret became known in the editorial office of Apollo, where it was constantly published. And then, as we already know, Gumilyov’s offensive attack against Dmitrieva followed, which led to Voloshin challenging Gumilyov to a duel.
All this turned into a severe creative crisis for the poetess.
Elizaveta Dmitrieva (1887-1928), poetess, playwright, translator, still wrote poetry after this ill-fated story, but she never managed to achieve fame under her own name.
There is another case in the history of literature that can be called differently - either a hoax or plagiarism. This started strange story in Georgia, was associated with the name of the Azerbaijani poet Mirza Shafi Vazekh (or -), and ended in distant Germany.
In 1844 in Tiflis (Tbilisi), at that time it was the capital of the Tiflis province of the Great Russian Empire, the German writer and Orientalist Friedrich Bodenstedt arrived, who soon met Mirza Shafi Vazekh, who worked as a teacher here.
Returning to Germany, in 1850 Bodenstedt published a voluminous book “1001 days in the East” (“Tausend und ein Tag im Orient”), part of which is dedicated to Mirza Shafi Vazeh. And in 1851, the book “Songs of Mirza-Shafi” (“Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy”) was published, translated by F. Bodenstedt. The book unexpectedly became extremely popular. So popular that it was reprinted annually and translated into many European languages.
The most interesting thing began to happen then. Twenty years after the death of Mirza Shafi, Vazeha Bodenstedt published the book “From the Legacy of Mirza Shafi”, in which he announced that the songs of Mirza Shafi were not translations of the poems of the Azerbaijani poet, who wrote in addition to his native language in Persian, but of him, Friedrich Bodenstedt, own works.
Let's finish our short essay on the most famous literary hoaxes tragic story about a story called "Emile Azhar". Hoax. In 1974, writer Emile Azhar published his debut novel, “Darling.” Critics receive it enthusiastically, and then the author who writes under this pseudonym is announced - this is the young writer Paul Pavlovich, nephew famous writer Romain Gary (1914-1980). His second novel, The Whole Life Ahead, received the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary award. In total, Azhar has four novels coming out.
It is impossible not to say at least a few words about Gary himself, how interesting and amazing his life was. Real name - Roman Katsev) was born in Vilna in the then Russian Empire. There was a legend that his real father was Ivan Mozzhukhin, a Russian silent film star. In 1928, mother and son moved to France, to Nice. Roman studied law in Aix-en-Provence and Paris. He also studied flying to become a military pilot. During the war he fought in Europe and Africa. After the war he was in the diplomatic service. His first novel was published in 1945. He soon becomes one of the most prolific and talented French writers. But let's return to the topic of our story. Namely, literary hoaxes.
However, critics soon became suspicious. Some of them considered the same Gary to be the author of the novels. Some, but by no means all. The fact is that by the mid-1970s, Romain Gary, winner of the Goncourt Prize, was considered worn out and exhausted.
Everything finally became clear after the publication in 1981 of the essay “The Life and Death of Emile Azhar,” which Gary wrote a few days before his death.
The reason for the deep mental crisis that led Gary to suicide was that in the end all the glory went not to the real Gary, but to the fictional Azhar. Although, in essence, Romain Gary is the only writer who received the Goncourt Prize twice - in 1956 under the name of Romain Gary for the novel “The Roots of Heaven” and in 1975 under the name of Emile Azhar for the novel “The Whole Life Ahead”... As time has shown, Emile’s life Azhara turned out to be short-lived.
This is a literary hoax text or fragment of text, the author of which attributes its creation to a figurehead, real or fictitious. Literary mystification is the opposite of plagiarism: the plagiarist borrows someone else’s word without citing the author; the hoaxer, on the contrary, attributes his word to someone else. The main difference between a literary hoax and an ordinary text is the creation of an image of the author, within the imaginary boundaries of whose mental, social and linguistic world the work appears. the dummy author is embodied in the style of the text, therefore literary hoax always involves stylization, imitation literary language a specific author or imitation of the style of an era, within the boundaries of which the social and cultural idiolect of a fictional author is created. A literary hoax, therefore, is convenient form both for experimentation in the field of style and for inheriting a stylistic tradition. From the point of view of the type of false authorship, literary hoaxes are divided into three groups:
- Imitating ancient monuments, the name of the author of which has not been preserved or has not been named (“Kraledvor Manuscript”);
- Attributed to historical or legendary persons (“Wortingern and Rowena”, 1796, issued by W. G. Ireland for a newly discovered play by W. Shakespeare; continuation of Pushkin’s “Rusalka”, performed by D. P. Zuev; “The Poems of Ossian”, 1765, J. Macpherson );
- Forwarded to fictional authors: “deceased” (“Tales of Belkin”, 1830, A.S. Pushkin, “The Life of Vasily Travnikov”, 1936, V.F. Khodasevich) or “living” (Cherubina de Gabriak, E. Azhar); for the sake of credibility, the fictional author is provided with a biography, and the real author can act as his publisher and/or executor.
Some works, which subsequently gained worldwide fame, were performed in the form of literary hoaxes (“Gulliver’s Travels”, 1726, J. Swift, “Robinson Crusoe”, 1719, D. Defoe, “Don Quixote”, 1605-15, M. Cervantes; "History of New York, 1809, W. Irving).
An important property of a literary hoax is the temporary appropriation of someone else's name by its author.. The hoaxer literally creates the text on behalf of another; the name is the prototype of language and the only reality of the imaginary author. Hence the increased attention to the name and its internal form. The name in a literary hoax is connected, on the one hand, with the language and architectonics of the text (for example, the testimony of E.I. Dmitrieva about the rootedness of the name Cherubina de Gabriak in the poetic fabric of works written in her name), and on the other hand, with the name of the real author (anagram , cryptogram, double translation effect, etc.). The misconception of the reader and the discovery of a forgery, two stages of the reception of a literary hoax, follow not from the gullibility of the reader, but from the very nature of the name, which does not allow, within the boundaries of literary reality, to distinguish between its real and imaginary bearers. The goal is an aesthetic and/or life-creative experiment. This is what distinguishes it from forgeries, the authors of which are guided solely by mercantile considerations (for example, Gutenberg’s companion I. Fust sold the first Mainz Bibles at exorbitant prices in Paris, passing them off as handwritten books), and intentional distortions historical event or biography of a historical figure. Fakes historical monuments(“The Tale of Two Embassies”, “Correspondence of Ivan the Terrible with the Turkish Sultan” - both 17th century) and biographical perjury (“Letters and notes of Ommer de Gelle”, 1933, composed by P.P. Vyazemsky) are quasi-mystifications.
The history of the study of literary hoaxes began with their collection. The first experiments in cataloging literary hoaxes date back to the period of the late Middle Ages - the beginning of the Renaissance and are associated with the need to attribute ancient texts. Attribution experiments of ancient and medieval monuments laid the scientific foundations of textual criticism and textual criticism both in Europe (criticism of the “Donation of Constantine”) and in Russia, where partial examinations of manuscripts were carried out since the 17th century. By the beginning of the 19th century, extensive material had been accumulated for compiling reference books and classifying types of fictitious authorship: literary hoaxes, pseudonyms, plagiarism, forgeries. At the same time, it became clear that compiling an exhaustive catalog of literary hoaxes is impossible, the science of literature is powerless to verify its entire archive, and philological methods for determining the authenticity of a text, especially in the absence of an autograph, are extremely unreliable and can produce contradictory results. In the 20th century, the study of literary hoax ceased to be exclusively a problem of textual criticism and copyright law; it began to be considered in the context of the history and theory of literature. In Russia about literary mystification as a subject theoretical research first said by E.L. Lann in 1930. Interest in literary mystification was stimulated by attention to the problem of dialogue, “one’s own” and “alien” words, which became one of the central philosophical and philological topics in the 1920s; It is no coincidence that in Lann’s book the influence of M. M. Bakhtin’s ideas is noticeable. Central problem Literary hoax in its theoretical light becomes someone else's name and a word spoken on someone else's behalf. Literary mystification is subject not only to changing literary eras and styles, but also to changing ideas about authorship and copyright, about the boundaries of literature and life, reality and fiction. From antiquity to the Renaissance, and in Russia until the beginning of the 19th century, the history of fictitious authorship is dominated by forgeries of ancient manuscript monuments and literary hoaxes attributed to historical or legendary figures.
In Greece from the 3rd century BC. The genre of fictitious letters created on behalf of famous authors of the past is known: the “seven” Greek sages, philosophers and political figures (Thales, Solon, Pythagoras, Plato, Hippocrates, etc.). The purpose of the forgery was often pragmatic: apologetic (giving current political and philosophical ideas greater authority) or discrediting (for example, Diotima composed 50 letters of obscene content on behalf of Epicurus); less often didactic (exercises in rhetoric schools to acquire skills good style). Literary mystification had the same meaning in literature medieval Europe and in ancient Russian literature. During the Renaissance, its character changes significantly. Literary hoaxes appear and begin to predominate, attributed to fictitious authors, for which the hoaxer composes not only the text, but also the author, his name, biography, and sometimes a portrait. In modern times, the history of literary mystification consists of uneven bursts, the main of which occur in the eras of Baroque, Romanticism, and Modernism, which is associated with the sense of the world as linguistic creativity inherent in these eras. Literary hoaxes in modern times can be deliberately humorous and parodic in nature: the reader, according to the author’s plan, should not believe in their authenticity (Kozma Prutkov).
"The Prince's Joke"
About the book "Ommer de Gell, letters and notes", which was published by the Academy publishing house in 1933. These are unknown documentary materials of a French traveler, in which she describes her voyage across Russia in late XIX century. The sensational content of the book lies in a number of “new” facts in the biography of the classics of Russian literature. For example, a secret romance and French poems by Mikhail Lermontov. The most prominent researchers and literary scholars accepted this hoax, which was created back in the 19th century by Prince Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky, at face value.
"Adored Son"
According to the position of the most prestigious Goncourt literary prize, it cannot be obtained twice. But there is a case in history when a writer circumvented this law, however, thanks to a scandalous hoax. This is the son of a Russian emigrant, who became a classic of French literature - Romain Gary. But the main hoaxer in the writer’s family was not he, but his mother.
"The Evil Sonnets of Guillaume du Ventre"
Sonnets French poet XVI century Guillaume du Ventre were published in the original language with translation in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in 1946. The real authors of this book were two prisoners who spent almost their entire lives in Stalin's camps. About amazing life and the creativity of these people who resisted the vicissitudes of fate - a story in the program.
"Botanical Hoaxes"
At a literary evening in Paris, Vladislav Khodasevich gave a report in which he spoke about the unknown poet of Derzhavin’s circle, Vasily Travnikov. The story about difficult fate Travnikov and the analysis of his poems, discovered by a happy accident by Khodasevich, evoked an enthusiastic reaction from critics, especially from Georgy Adamovich. A few years later, Vladimir Nabokov published poems and a story about meeting his contemporary, Vasily Shishkov. And again Adamovich was in the forefront of those deceived by the hoax. This brilliant critic, who constantly made claims to the work of Khodasevich and Nabokov, was conducted by them both times, under botanical pseudonyms.
The Silver Age loved pranks and hoaxes, but one of them went beyond private entertainment and turned into a significant event in literary and cultural life 1910s Is in history Cherubins de Gabriac something that disturbs the heart even more than a century later: perhaps the poems themselves, perhaps the fate of their author.
Trouble in the editorial office
In 1909-1917 Apollo magazine, dedicated to literature, painting and theater, occupied a very special place among printed publications Russian capital. Today it would be called “cult”: publication in “Apollo” meant almost automatic inclusion of the novice author in the guild of poets. However, getting published in Apollo was not easy. In August 1909, Makovsky, who was then acting not only as publisher, but also as editor-in-chief, received a letter.
It was sharply different from other “gravity flow” and appearance- leaves in mourning frames, arranged with spicy herbs, elegant handwriting, and the content - the poems were refined and mysterious. Makovsky was intrigued, especially since soon a stranger, who introduced herself as Cherubina, called on the phone, and then sent another letter with wonderful poems.
When Makovsky showed Cherubina’s poems to Apollo employees, among whom was M. Voloshin, they supported his decision to immediately publish them. But more powerful than the embossed lines was the personality of their author. The mysterious Cherubina communicated with Makovsky only by phone, spoke about herself in hints, and in poetry wrote about ancient coats of arms, confession in a church and other things exotic for a Russian intellectual.
Heiress of the Crusaders
Gradually - from hints, fragments of phrases, half-confession and metaphors - the image of the poetess emerged. In a luxurious mansion, where mere mortals have no access, lives a young beauty with the golden braids of a princess and the green eyes of a witch. She is a noble Spaniard by origin, a passionate Catholic by religion, and a poet by vocation.
Seeing her, it is impossible not to fall in love, but she loves only Christ and is seriously thinking about entering a monastery. She doesn't need royalties - she's immensely rich; she doesn't need fame - she's above this vanity fair. This image fit so well into the style of decadence that not only Makovsky, but almost the entire editorial staff of the magazine fell in love with Cherubina de Gabriak.
The “passion for Cherubina” lasted for several months, regularly sending new poems and creating new reasons for excitement. Then she became seriously ill, falling unconscious after a night prayer vigil; then she leaves for Paris. Driven into a frenzy, Makovsky vowed to tear off the veil of secrecy from Cherubina at all costs and fall at the feet of the green-eyed naiad, experienced in “mystical eros.” Soon his wish came true, albeit in a somewhat unexpected way.
Duel and exposure
In November 1909, an unheard of incident happened: M. Voloshin, known for his good-natured disposition and physical strength, approached N. Gumilyov and slapped him in the face in the presence of witnesses. It didn’t come to a fight between the famous poets: they were separated, but it came to a duel, which took place on November 22, 1909 on the Black River. The duel ended without bloodshed, but rumors spread throughout St. Petersburg: they were fighting because of a woman, because of that same Cherubina. But it turned out that both of them knew her?
It soon became clear that Makovsky himself was familiar with Cherubina. In the summer, a young teacher, Elizaveta Dmitrieva, brought him her poems: pretty, but lame and, oh horror, poorly dressed. According to Makovsky, a real poetess could not look like that, and the poems were returned to the author. If Dmitrieva had not been part of Voloshin’s circle, this would have been the end of it; but she told the story of the unsuccessful publication to a poet who loved practical jokes, and he came up with a “game of Cherubina” on a summer Koktebel evening.
The fact that Dmitrieva and Voloshin started the game for its own sake, and not for the sake of publication, is evidenced by the fact that Elizaveta could be published in Apollo under her own name - even after an unsuccessful first visit. All she had to do was ask her lover N. Gumilyov, and he would persuade Makovsky to publish a couple of her works on the pages of the magazine. But I didn’t want to ask Dmitriev.
The teacher, who lived on a meager salary, was seduced by the opportunity to feel, at least for a short time, like a fatal beauty playing with men’s hearts. Voloshin came up with themes, Elizaveta wrote poems and intrigued Makovsky over the phone, portraying a mysterious aristocrat. But every game comes to an end sooner or later. Today they would say that Voloshin and Dmitrieva created a “virtual character.”
erupted loud scandal. A stream of the dirtiest gossip swirled around Dmitrieva: Voloshin, they say, wrote poetry for her; and she slept with two poets at the same time; and scary as a toad. The shocked girl stopped writing poetry and left the world of literature for a long time. Dmitrieva’s fate was sad: she was exiled to Central Asia, she died in 1928 at the age of 41 from liver cancer, and her grave has not survived. All that remains is the legend of the brilliant beauty Cherubina and her poems.
BONUS
Another extraordinary personality of that time, Pallada Bogdanova-Belskaya, is of great interest today.