Marina Tsvetaeva: The Double Beat of Heaven and Hell

333 Pages·1994·18.84 MB·English

by  Lily Feiler

Marina Tsvetaeva

Marina Tsvetaeva
THE DOUBLE BEAT OF HEAVEN AND HELL
Lily Feiler
~]
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS Durham and London 1994
© 1994 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper §
Typeset in Joanna by Tseng Information Systems
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
appear on the last printed page of this book.
To my grandchildren
Joshua, Zina, Benjamin, and Gabriel,
with all my love.

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Permissions xiii
A Note on Translations, Transliteration, and Punctuation xv
Introduction 1
FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD 7
Formative forces
2 GROWING UP: REALITY AND FANTASY 22
God/Devil: the central conflict
3 ADOLESCENCE, MOTHER'S DEATH 30
Schools abroad / Escape into imagination
4 DAWNING SEXUALITY 43
Ellis and Nilender / First poetry collection
5 ILLUSIONS 56
Marriage to Sergey Efron / Birth of daughter, Ariadna/ Alya
Disenchantment / Father's death
6 LESBIAN PASSION 66
Sofiya Parnok / The wound that would not heal
7 IN THE SHADOW OF THE REVOLUTION 78
Flirtation with Mandelshtam / Love affairs and dread
Birth of second daughter, Irina / Revolution and separation
viii Contents
8 LIFE UNDER COMMUNISM 86
Poverty, excitement, and creativity / Involvement with actors
and theater / Closeness with Alya
9 PASSION AND DESPAIR 95
Sonechka: fantasy of pure love / Irina's death
10 YEARS OF FRENZY AND GROWTH 104
Volkonsky. Vysheslavtsev, Lann / The Tsar-Maiden and
"On a Red Steed"
11 NEW POETIC VOICE AND DEPARTURE 116
A young Bolshevik, literary friends / Departure
12 RUSSIAN BERLIN 124
Vishnyak, new infatuation / Old friends: Ehrenburg and Bely
Reunion with husband / Correspondence with Pasternak
13 PRAGUE, CREATIVE PEAK 133
Creative crest-"The Swain" / Letters to Pasternak and Bakhrakh
14 GREAT LOVE, GREAT PAIN 144
Konstantin Rodzevich / "Poem of the Mountain" and
"Poem of the End" / Marriage crisis
15 RESIGNATION AND BIRTH OF SON 152
Grinding poverty, women friends / Birth of son Georgy (Mur)
Move to Paris
16 PARIS, SUCCESS AND NEW PROBLEMS 160
"The Ratcatcher" / Initial success / Eurasians-new friends, criticism
17 THE CORRESPONDENCE WITH RILKE AND PASTERNAK 168
Search for the Beyond / Conflict with Pasternak / Economic hardships
18 SPIRALING DOWN 180
Rilke's death / Hostility in literary circles / Efron's turn toward Soviets
19 GROWING ISOLATION 187
Phaedra / After Russia published
Defense of Mayakovsky / Nikolay Gronsky
20 HITTING BOTTOM 196
Poetic crisis, growing isolation / End of Pasternak's marriage / Depression
Contents ix
21 ALIENATION AND SELF-ANALYSIS 203
Salomea and "Letter to an Amazon"
22 INDIGENCE AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROSE 210
Ivask correspondence / Efron applies for a Soviet passport /
Family conflicts
23 FURTHER WITHDRAWAL 223
Pasternak's visit / Steiger-new hopes for love dashed
24- A FATEFUL YEAR, 1937 231
Pushkin essays-a look into herself / Alya's leaving for Russia
The Efron case
25 RETURN TO THE SOVIET UNION 24-2
Atmosphere of Stalinist terror / Arrest of Alya and Sergey
Golytsino Writers' House / Frustrated attempts to publish; translations
26 WAR, EVACUATION, SUICIDE 254
Afterword 265
Notes 269
Bibliography 291
Index 295