Nadezhda Gordonovna Starov was the wife of a leytenant Starov (Christian name unimportant), who had served under General Wrangel and now had some office job in the White Cross. I had met him in London recently, as fellow pallbearer at the funeral of the old Count, whose bastard or "adopted nephew" (whatever that meant), he was said to be. (LATH, 1.11)

 

In his poem Kinematograf (¡°Cinematograph,¡± 1913) Mandelshtam describes a motion picture and mentions leytenant flota (a navy lieutenant), a grey-haired Count¡¯s bastard whom beautiful young Countess loves selflessly, like a brother:

 

§¬§Ú§ß§Ö§Þ§Ñ§ä§à§Ô§â§Ñ§æ. §´§â§Ú §ã§Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú.
§³§Ö§ß§ä§Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§ä§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ô§à§â§ñ§é§Ü§Ñ.
§¡§â§Ú§ã§ä§à§Ü§â§Ñ§ä§Ü§Ñ §Ú §Ò§à§Ô§Ñ§é§Ü§Ñ
§£ §ã§Ö§ä§ñ§ç §ã§à§á§Ö§â§ß§Ú§è§í-§Ù§Ý§à§Õ§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú.

 

§¯§Ö §å§Õ§Ö§â§Ø§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§ð§Ò§Ó§Ú §á§à§Ý§×§ä§Ñ:
§°§ß§Ñ §ß§Ú §Ó §é§Ö§Þ §ß§Ö §Ó§Ú§ß§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ñ!
§³§Ñ§Þ§à§à§ä§Ó§Ö§â§Ø§Ö§ß§ß§à, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ò§â§Ñ§ä§Ñ,
§­§ð§Ò§Ú§Ý§Ñ §Ý§Ö§Û§ä§Ö§ß§Ñ§ß§ä§Ñ §æ§Ý§à§ä§Ñ.

 

§¡ §à§ß §ã§Ü§Ú§ä§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Ó §á§å§ã§ä§í§ß§Ö ¡ª
§³§Ö§Õ§à§Ô§à §Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ñ §ã§í§ß §á§à§Ò§à§é§ß§í§Û.
§´§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Ý§å§Ò§à§é§ß§í§Û
§²§à§Þ§Ñ§ß §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§Ú§è§í §Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ú§ß§Ú¡­

 

It is Lieutenant Starov who kills Iris Black (the first of Vadim Vadimovich¡¯s three or four successive wives):

 

The story that appeared among other faits-divers in the Paris dailies after an investigation by the police--whom Ivor and I contrived to mislead thoroughly--amounted to what follows--I translate: a White Russian, Wladimir Blagidze, alias Starov, who was subject to paroxysms of insanity, ran amuck Friday night in the middle of a calm street, opened fire at random, and after killing with one pistol shot an English tourist Mrs. [name garbled], who chanced to be passing by, blew his brains out beside her. (1.13)

 

It is possible that old Count Starov was the real father of Vadim, his wife Iris and his wife¡¯s murderer. Perhaps, Nadezhda Gordonovna wanted to tell this to Vadim:

 

From somewhere in the Orkneys, Nadezhda Gordonovna and a clerical friend arrived in Paris only after her husband's burial. Moved by a false sense of duty, she attempted to see me so as to tell me "everything." I evaded all contact with her, but she managed to locate Ivor in London before he left for the States. I never asked him, and the dear funny fellow never revealed to me what that "everything" was; I refuse to believe that it could have amounted to much--and I knew enough, anyway. (ibid.)

 

The editor of Patria calls Vadim¡¯s first wife ¡°Irida Osipovna:¡±

 

The editor of Patria, the ¨¦migr¨¦ monthly in which Pawn Takes Queen had begun to be serialized, invited "Irida Osipovna" and me to a literary samovar. (1.11)

 

Iris Black¡¯ Russian patronymic seems to hint at Osip Mandelstam (the poet whose wife¡¯s name was Nadezhda). In a humorous little poem Mandelshtam (a friend of the poet and translator Benedikt Lifshits) reverts the Latin saying ubi bene, ibi patria:

 

Ubi bene, ibi patria, ¡ª
§¯§à §Ú§Þ§Ö§ñ §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Þ §¢§Ö§ß§Ñ
§­§Ú§Ó§ê§Ú§è§Ñ, §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§å §à§Ò§â§Ñ§ä§ß§à§Ö:
Ubi patria, ibi bene.

 

According to Vadim, one of his translators, Mr. Kulich, signed his letters Ben:

 

I received the typed translations of The Red Topper (sic) and Camera Lucida virtually at the same time, in the autumn of 1937. They proved to be even more ignoble than I expected. Miss Haworth, an Englishwoman, had spent three happy years in Moscow  where her father had been Ambassador; Mr. Kulich was an elderly Russian-born New Yorker who signed his letters Ben. (2.10)

 

Kulich means ¡°Easter cake.¡± In his poem Kholodnaya vesna. Beskhlebnyi, robkiy Krym¡­  (¡°Cold spring. The breadless, timid Crimea¡­¡± 1933) Mandelshtam mentions Wrangel and paskhal¡¯noy glupost¡¯yu ukrashennyi mindal¡¯ (almond trees decorated with Easter nonsense):

 

§·§à§Ý§à§Õ§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ó§Ö§ã§ß§Ñ. §¢§Ö§ã§ç§Ý§Ö§Ò§ß§í§Û, §â§à§Ò§Ü§Ú§Û §¬§â§í§Þ.
§¬§Ñ§Ü §Ò§í§Ý §á§â§Ú §£§â§Ñ§ß§Ô§Ö§Ý§Ö, §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ö §Ó§Ú§ß§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§í§Û.
§¬§à§Ý§ð§é§Ü§Ú §ß§Ñ §Ù§Ö§Þ§Ý§Ö, §ß§Ñ §â§å§Ò§Ú§ë§Ñ§ç §Ù§Ñ§á§Ý§Ñ§ä§í,
§£§ã§× §ä§à§ä §Ø§Ö §Ü§Ú§ã§Ý§Ö§ß§î§Ü§Ú§Û, §Ü§å§ã§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Û§ã§ñ §Õ§í§Þ.

 

§£§ã§× §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ö §ç§à§â§à§ê§Ñ §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ö§ñ§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Õ§Ñ§Ý§î,
§¥§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§î§ñ, §á§à§é§Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ú §ß§Ñ§Ò§å§ç§ê§Ú§Ö §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ñ§Ý§à§ã§ä§î,
§³§ä§à§ñ§ä, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §á§â§Ú§ê§Ý§í§Ö, §Ú §Ó§í§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ø§Ñ§Ý§à§ã§ä§î
§±§Ñ§ã§ç§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§à§Û §Ô§Ý§å§á§à§ã§ä§î§ð §å§Ü§â§Ñ§ê§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Þ§Ú§ß§Õ§Ñ§Ý§î.

 

§±§â§Ú§â§à§Õ§Ñ §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö §å§Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ý§Ú§è§Ñ,
§ª §ä§Ö§ß§Ú §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ê§ß§í§Ö §µ§Ü§â§Ñ§Û§ß§í §Ú §¬§å§Ò§Ñ§ß§Ú ¡ª
§¯§Ñ §Ó§à§Û§Ý§à§é§ß§à§Û §Ù§Ö§Þ§Ý§Ö §Ô§à§Ý§à§Õ§ß§í§Ö §Ü§â§Ö§ã§ä§î§ñ§ß§Ö
§¬§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ä§Ü§å §ã§ä§Ö§â§Ö§Ô§å§ä, §ß§Ö §ä§â§à§Ô§Ñ§ñ §Ü§à§Ý§î§è§Ñ...

 

Lieutenant Starov shoots Iris dead when she returns from a Paris restaurant where she dined with her husband and her brother Ivor. At the beginning of his review of Bely¡¯s autobiographical Zapiski chudaka (An Eccentric's Notes, 1922) Mandelshtam mentions a Moscow restaurant:

 

§²§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §ã§Ú§Þ§Ó§à§Ý§Ú§Ù§Þ §Ø§Ú§Ó. §²§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §ã§Ú§Þ§Ó§à§Ý§Ú§Ù§Þ §ß§Ö §å§Þ§Ö§â. §±§Ú§æ§à§ß §Ü§Ý§å§Ò§Ú§ä§ã§ñ. §¡§ß§Õ§â§Ö§Û §¢§Ö§Ý§í§Û §á§â§à§Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ñ§Ö§ä §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ó§ß§í§Ö §ä§â§Ñ§Õ§Ú§è§Ú§Ú §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§ß§à§Û §ï§á§à§ç§Ú, §Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §á§à§Ý§à§Ó§à§Û, §à§ä§â§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Õ§Ó§à§Û§ß§í§Þ§Ú §Ù§Ö§â§Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ú §â§Ö§ã§ä§à§â§Ñ§ß§Ñ «§±§â§Ñ§Ô§Ñ», §Ó§à§ã§á§â§Ú§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Þ§Ú§ã§ä§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ö §ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Õ§Ó§à§Û§ß§Ú§Ü, §Ú §á§à§â§ñ§Õ§à§é§ß§í§Û §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§à§â §ã§ä§Ö§ã§ß§ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §Ý§Ö§é§î §ã§á§Ñ§ä§î, §ß§Ö §ß§Ñ§Ü§à§á§Ú§Ó §Ù§Ñ §Õ§Ö§ß§î §á§ñ§ä§Ú §Ú§Ý§Ú §ê§Ö§ã§ä§Ú «§å§Ø§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ü§à§Ó».

 

Andrey Bely (whose penname means ¡°white¡±) is the author of Arlekinada (¡°The Harlequinade,¡± 1906), a poem dedicated to modern harlequins, and of Masterstvo Gogolya (¡°Gogol¡¯s Craftsmanship,¡± 1934). In his Stikhi pamyati Andreya Belogo (¡°Verses in Memory of Andrey Bely,¡± 1934) Mandelshtam mentions Gogol:

 

§°§ä§Ü§å§Õ§Ñ §á§â§Ú§Ó§Ö§Ù§Ý§Ú? §¬§à§Ô§à? §¬§à§ä§à§â§í§Û §å§Þ§Ö§â?
§¤§Õ§Ö ‹§Ò§å§Õ§å§ä §ç§à§â§à§ß§Ú§ä§î›? §®§ß§Ö §é§ä§à-§ä§à §ß§Ö§Ó§Õ§à§Þ§×§Ü.
§³§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ú§ä§Ö, §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§ñ§ä, §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Û-§ä§à §¤§à§Ô§à§Ý§î §å§Þ§Ö§â.
§¯§Ö §¤§à§Ô§à§Ý§î, §ä§Ñ§Ü §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö, §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î-§Ô§à§Ô§à§Ý§×§Ü.

 

Ivor Black (an amateur actor and director who moved to Hollywood) wants Vadim to prepare a script based on Gogol¡¯s play Inspector (1836):

 

Ivor described his own house in Los Angeles. He proposed discussing with me after dinner a script he wished me to prepare based on Gogol's Inspector (we were back at the start, so to speak). Iris asked for another helping of whatever it was we were eating.

"You will die," said Ivor. "It's monstrously rich. Remember what Miss Grunt (a former governess to whom he would assign all kinds of gruesome apothegms) used to say: `The white worms lie in wait for the glutton.' "

"That's why I want to be burned when I die," remarked Iris.

He ordered a second or third bottle of the indifferent white wine I had had the polite weakness to praise. We drank to his last film--I forget its title--which was to be shown tomorrow in London, and later in Paris, he hoped. (1.13)

 

In Gogol¡¯s Inspector Osip is the name of Khlestakov¡¯s valet. According to Khlestakov, he is s Pushkinym na druzheskoy noge (on friendly terms with Pushkin). The name-and-patronymic of Pushkin¡¯s mother was Nadezhda Osipovna. In Kishinev Pushkin had a pistol duel with Colonel Starov. In his poem K moryu (¡°To the Sea,¡± 1824) Pushkin speaks of Napoleon¡¯s and Byron¡¯s deaths. Nadezhda Gordonovna Starov¡¯s patronymic seems to hint at Byron (the poet who had an affair with his half-sister Augusta). Her husband, Lieutenant Starov, was a naval officer (leytenant was a rank in the Imperial Russian Navy).

 

Alexey Sklyarenko

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