Give me a bim for luck. The history of the creation of the poem "Kachalov's dog
Give me a paw for luck, Jim,
I have never seen such a paw before.
Let's bark with you in the moonlight
For quiet, noiseless weather.
Give me a paw for luck, Jim.
Please, darling, don't lick.
Understand with me at least the simplest.
You don't know what life is
You don’t know that life is worth living.
Your master is sweet and famous
And he has many guests in his house,
And everyone strives, smiling
Touch your velvet coat.
You're dog-like devilishly handsome
With such a sweet, trusting friend.
And without asking anyone a drop,
Like a drunken friend, you climb to kiss.
My dear Jim, among your guests
There were so many of them.
But the one that is most silent and sad,
Didn't you come here by chance?
She will come, I give you a guarantee.
And without me, in her gaze,
Lick her hand gently for me
For everything that I was and was not to blame.
Analysis of the poem "Kachalov's Dog" by Yesenin
The poem "Kachalov's Dog" was written by Yesenin in 1925. It stands out among other works of the poet of the late period of creativity. By the end of his life, Yesenin was often in a gloomy and depressed state. "Katchalov's Dog" is an optimistic and joyful work, which only towards the end acquires a sad character. It is based on a real case. Yesenin came to visit his friend - actor V. Kachalov. He was not yet at home, and the poet, while waiting for the owner, met his dog Jim. Returning home, Kachalov saw that Yesenin and the dog looked like bosom friends. After some time, the poet wrote a poem dedicated to the dog, and solemnly read it to the owner.
Despite its playful nature, the work contains deep philosophical reflection. Yesenin barely concealed his disappointment from life. He sought and did not find solace in alcohol and numerous novels. The poet is tired of human society and obsessive fame that is no longer necessary for him. As a child, Yesenin felt his unity with nature, but city life gradually cut off this connection. A sincere conversation with a dog brings him back to childhood, when everything was clear and understandable. An animal cannot become a source of suffering, it will listen carefully to the bitter confession of any person.
Yesenin has a very serious philosophical conversation with Jim about the meaning of life. He understands that human passions are inaccessible to the dog and envies him in this. Jim doesn't care what a person's past is or how others relate to him. Yesenin's bad reputation makes him deeply appreciate such an attitude. Many turned away from the poet, learning about his violent antics. But the dog lives only in the present day and is always ready to silently listen to his repentance.
At the end of the poem, Yesenin turns to a very personal topic. He asks Jim to ask forgiveness for him from the one "who is the most silent and sad." Probably, the poet feels his guilt so strongly that he is not able to do it himself. He cannot even appoint a person as mediator, since words will not fully convey his repentance. "Lick her hand gently" - this is the only way Yesenin can express his humility and admission of grave guilt. It was never fully established who the poet had in mind. Given his turbulent life, several women could claim this role. The most widespread version is that this mysterious guest could be G. Benislavskaya, who had a long-standing and very difficult relationship with Yesenin.
"Kachalov's Dog" Sergei Yesenin
Give me a paw for luck, Jim,
I have never seen such a paw before.
Let's bark with you in the moonlight
For quiet, noiseless weather.
Give me a paw for luck, Jim.Please, darling, don't lick.
Understand with me at least the simplest.
You don't know what life is
You don’t know that life is worth living.Your master is sweet and famous
And he has many guests in his house,
And everyone, smiling, strives
Touch your velvet coat.You're dog-like devilishly handsome
With such a sweet, trusting friend.
And without asking anyone a drop,
Like a drunken friend, you climb to kiss.My dear Jim, among your guests
There were so many of them.
But the one that is most silent and sad,
Didn't you come here by chance?She will come, I give you a guarantee.
And without me, in her gaze,
Lick her hand gently for me
For everything that I was and was not to blame.
Analysis of Yesenin's poem "Kachalov's Dog"
The poem "Kachalov's Dog", written by Sergei Yesenin in 1925, is one of the most famous works of the poet. It is based on real events: the dog Jim, to whom the author addressed these surprisingly gentle and touching poems, really existed and lived in the house of the artist of the Moscow Art Theater Vasily Kachalov, whom Yesenin often visited. According to eyewitnesses, a very friendly and trusting relationship was established between the dog and the poet literally from the first days of their acquaintance. Freedom-loving Jim always rejoiced at the arrival of Yesenin, who pampered him with various delicacies.
However, the poem dedicated to Jim has a deeper and more tragic connotation. This becomes clear already from the first stanza, when Yesenin tells the dog: "Let's make a whisper with you in the moonlight on a quiet, silent weather." What exactly is hidden behind such a spontaneous and ridiculous desire of a person who came to visit a friend, hoping to spend the evening in a pleasant company?
Researchers of the life and work of Sergei Yesenin associate the general mood of the poem "Kachalov's Dog", filled with sadness and regret about what can no longer be returned, with the names of several women. One of them is the Armenian teacher Shahane Talyan, whom the poet met in Batumi on the eve of 1925. Many attributed to them a passionate romance and believed that the poet's depression was due to the fact that he parted with his “Armenian muse”. However, Shahane Talyan refutes these speculations, claiming that she had warm friendly relations with the poet.
The second woman who could cause the poet's mental pain is his wife, dancer Isadora Duncan, whom Yesenin parted with after returning from a trip to the Caucasus. But this version turned out to be far from reality. After the poet's death, it turned out that during his stay in Batumi, he had an affair with the journalist Galina Beneslavskaya, who had been in love with the poet for many years, and he considered her his best and most devoted friend. History is silent about why Beneslavskaya and Yesenin met in Batumi. However, it is known for certain that soon Isadora Duncan, who was at that time in Yalta on tour, received a telegram from her husband's mistress that he would never return to her.
Subsequently, this all happened, however, the poet soon parted with Galina Beneslavskaya, stating that he greatly appreciates her as a friend, but does not love her as a woman. And it was from her, who also often visited Kachalov's house, that Yesenin wanted to apologize for causing his best friend so much mental suffering.
It is worth noting that by the time of writing the poem "Katchalov's Dog" the poet was already married to Sophia Tolstoy, and was very burdened by this marriage. Only a few months remained before his fatal death.
Therefore, in the last lines of the poem, when the poet asked to gently lick the hand of the one who is the most silent and sad ", he not only asks Beneslavskaya for forgiveness" for what he was and was not to blame, "but also says goodbye to her, as if anticipating quick death. AND it is this premonition that colors the work "Katchalov's Dog" with special tenderness and sadness... In addition, among the lines, the loneliness of a person who is disappointed in love and has lost faith in the closest people is clearly visible. And - an acute sense of guilt for the fact that the author could not make truly happy those who truly loved him, despite the inconstancy of character, recklessness and the desire to be free from any obligations.
"Nothing, I tripped over a stone, it will all heal by tomorrow." (with)
Give me a paw for luck, Jim,
I have never seen such a paw before.
Let's bark with you in the moonlight
For quiet, noiseless weather.
Give me a paw for luck, Jim.
Please darling, don't lick
Understand with me at least the simplest.
Because you don't know what life is
You don't know what life is worth in the world.
Your master is sweet and famous
And he has many guests in his house,
And everyone, smiling, strives
Touch your velvet coat.
You're dog-like devilishly handsome
With such a sweet, trusting friend.
And without asking anyone a drop,
Like a drunken friend, you climb up to kiss
My dear Jim, among your guests
There were so many and not all.
But the one that is most silent and sad
Didn't you come here by chance?
She will come, I give you a guarantee
And without me in her gaze,
<1925>
Isn't it true, often something that has long been understood and familiar, suddenly appears before us in a new, hitherto unseen image? How often do we just have to think a little, and something incomprehensible becomes quite understandable ?! How many times have you read Sergei Yesenin's poem "Kachalov's Dog"? Most likely, more than once, but, probably, being under the general impression of the stanzas created by the genius, you have never asked the question: about whom is Yesenin sad, about whom are his thoughts, which he shares with his beloved Jim?
In my research work, I tried to reveal the secret of the image, which, without violating the general structure of Yesenin's poem "Katchalov's Dog", makes it surprisingly touching and humane. In other words, I tried to find out whether the prototype for the one that "everyone is more silent and sad" why, remembering her, the poet experiences a nagging feeling of guilt. Let us recall the final lines of the poem: "You gently lick her hand for me for everything you were and was not to blame."
I took up this topic, because it helps to develop logical thinking, and becoming a real discoverer of the depths of the personal life of the poet S. Yesenin that have not yet been explored by historians-eseninologists or simply amateurs. Poets are very extraordinary people and for the most part are fickle in love. But through the prism of the characters of their beloved, their features, one can unravel some of the character traits of the poets themselves. Isn't it interesting to learn about the life of a beloved poet that no one has guessed yet ?!
The first step of the research will be to study the history of the creation of the poem "Kachalov's Dog".
Literary reference:
The artist of the Moscow Art Theater V. I. Kachalov, recalling the first meeting with Yesenin, which took place in the spring of 1925, writes: “At about twelve o'clock in the morning I played a performance, I come home ... A small group of my friends and Yesenin are sitting with me ... on the stairs and I hear the joyful barking of Jim, the very dog to which Yesenin later dedicated poetry. Then Jim was only four months old. I went in, saw Yesenin and Jim - they had already met and were sitting on the couch, huddled close to each other. Yesenin put his arm around Jim's neck with one hand, and with the other held his paw and said in a hoarse bask: "What a paw, I have never seen one like this before."
Jim squealed happily, rapidly poked his head out of Yesenin's armpit and licked his face; when Yesenin read poetry, Jim carefully looked into his mouth. Before leaving, Yesenin shook his paw for a long time: “Oh, damn it, it's hard to part with you. I will write poems for him today. "
From the dictionary:
Kachalov (real name Shirubovich) Vasily Ivanovich (1875-1948) Soviet actor, People's Artist of the USSR. On stage since 1896, since 1900 at the Moscow Art Theater. Actor of high intellectual culture, great charm. Kachalov performed a number of roles in the plays of Chekhov, M. Gorky, where he played leading roles. He created outstanding images in the works of Shakespeare (Hamlet - "Hamlet"), A.S. Griboyedov (Chatsky - "Woe from Wit"), F.M. Dostoevsky (Ivan Karamazov - "The Brothers Karamazov"), at L.N. Tolstoy (author - "Resurrection").
Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. Fourth edition. Moscow "Soviet Encyclopedia" 1988
Much to the surprise of the owner Jim, the poet kept his word. Katchalov recalls: “I came home one day soon after my first acquaintance with Yesenin. My family says that Yesenin Pilnyak and someone else, I think Tikhonov, came in without me. Yesenin had a top hat on his head, and he explained that he had put on the top hat for the parade, that he had come to Jim with a visit and with specially written verses for him, but since the act of handing over the verses to Jim requires the presence of the owner, he will come another time "( "Memories" pp. 417-420).
Kachalov recalled one visit to his hotel, which took place during the Baku tour of the Moscow Art Theater in May 1925: "A young, pretty, dark-skinned girl comes and asks:" Are you Kachalov? " - "Kachalov" - I answer. "Have one arrived?" - "No, with the theater." - "And nobody else was brought?" I am perplexed: "My wife," I say, "is with me, comrades." - "And Jim is not with you?" - almost exclaimed. "No," I say, "Jim stayed in Moscow." - “Ah-yay, how will Yesenin be killed, he has been here in the hospital for two weeks, everything is raving about Jim and says to the doctors:“ You don't know what kind of dog this is! If Katchalov brings Jim here, I will be instantly healthy. I will shake his paw - and I will be healthy, I will swim with him in the sea. " The girl handed over the note and walked away from me, clearly upset: "Well, somehow I will prepare Yesenin so that I don't count on Jim." As it turned out later, it was the same Shagane, the Persian. "
In the note I read: “Dear Vasily Ivanovich. I'm here. Here he published a poem to Jim (the poem was published in the newspaper "Bakinsky Rabochy" in 1925, No. 77, April 7). I will leave the hospital on Sunday (I have a lung problem). I would very much like to see you behind your 57-year-old Armenian. A? I shake your hands. S. Yesenin ".
But the famous Yesenin scholar Ilya Shneider in his book "Meetings with Yesenin", published in 1974 by the publishing house "Soviet Russia", writes:
“This is an unconditional mistake: Shagane Nersesovna Talyan met Yesenin in the winter of 1924 in Batumi. She was not in Baku during Yesenin's gamble, which is confirmed by her own recollections, in which she says: "At the end of January 1925, Sergei Yesenin left Batum, and since then we have not met with him."
Be that as it may, Yesenin's affection for Jim was actually noticeable and pleasant to all three: Yesenin, Katchalov and "dear" Jim.
Literary reference:
Sergei Alexandrovich met in Batumi a young Armenian woman named Shahane. She was an extremely interesting, cultured teacher of the local Armenian school, fluent in Russian. "The external resemblance to his girlfriend and her melodious name caused Yesenin a great feeling of tenderness for Shagane" (this is how LI Povitsky recalls).
Shagane Nersesovna Terteryan (Talyan) is an Armenian teacher who became the prototype of a romantic female image that adorned the poetic cycle "Persian Motives", which was created by the poet during three trips to Georgia and Azerbaijan (to Persia, as Yesenin said in 1924-1925).
In one of the poems dedicated to her, another female image suddenly appears, which the poet compares with the beautiful Shagane.
Shagane you are mine, Shagane!
About wavy rye in the moonlight.
Shagane you are mine, Shagane.
Because I'm from the north or something,
That the moon is a hundred times bigger there,
No matter how beautiful Shiraz is,
He is no better than Ryazan expanses
Because I'm from the north, or something.
I'm ready to tell you the field
I took this hair from the rye,
If you want, knit on your finger-
I don't feel any pain at all.
I am ready to tell you the field.
About wavy rye in the moonlight,
Guess my curls.
Honey, joke, smile
Don't just wake up the memory in me
About wavy rye in the moonlight.
Shagane you are mine, Shagane!
There's a girl in the north too
She looks terribly like you
Maybe thinking about me ...
Shagane you are mine, Shagane.
"Baku Worker" newspaper, 1925
Let's pay attention to the last quatrain. "She looks terribly like you." Whom did the beautiful Armenian woman remind Yesenin of? Doesn't the image of a girl "terribly similar" to Shagane have a connection with the mysterious female image that sadly illuminated the poem "Katchalov's Dog"? Is it not about the one "who is the most silent and sadder", the poet recalls in another poem of the cycle "Persian motives" - "I have never been to the Bosphorus ..."
I have never been to the Bosphorus,
Don't ask me about him.
I saw the sea in your eyes
Blazing with blue fire.
I did not go to Baghdad with a caravan,
I did not take silk there and henna.
Bend over with your beautiful body
On your knees, let me rest.
Or again, no matter how much I ask,
For you, forever does not matter,
What's in the distant name-Russia-
I am a famous, recognized poet.
A talisman is ringing in my soul
I hear a dog barking in the moonlight.
Don't you want, Persian,
See the distant blue edge?
I did not come here out of boredom-
You, invisible, called me.
And me your swan hands
They were entwined like two wings.
I've been looking for peace in fate for a long time,
And although I don't curse my past life,
Tell me something
About your cheerful country.
Drown out the melancholy melancholy in your soul,
Give me a breath of fresh spell
So that I am about a distant northerner
I didn't sigh, I didn't think, I didn't get bored.
And although I have not been to the Bosphorus-
I'll think of it for you.
All the same - your eyes. Like sea,
They sway with blue fire.
1924
Continuing the search, let us study Yesenin's letters, written during the period of the creation of "Persian motives". Maybe they will shed light on the riddle and help to find out about whom the poet “thought” and “missed”, and in whose blue eyes the poet “saw the sea blazing with blue fire”?
Most of the letters written during Yesenin's stay in the Caucasus are addressed to Galina Arturovna Benislavskaya. The study of memoir literature related to the life and work of the poet allows us to establish that G.A. Benislavskaya (1897-1926) was a journalist who worked for the Moscow newspaper "Bednota" for several years, until her death.
Literary reference:
Galina Arturovna Benislavskaya was the daughter of a French student and a Georgian woman. The parents parted shortly after the birth of the girl, her mother became mentally ill, and the girl was adopted by relatives, the family of doctors Benislavsky, who lived in the Latvian city of Rezekne. Galina Benislavskaya studied at the Women's Preobrazhenskaya Gymnasium in St. Petersburg and graduated with a gold medal in 1917.
Matvey Roizman recalled: “Benislavskaya was a member of the RCP (b), studied at Kharkov University at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, was well-read, understood literature and poetry. When the White Guard armies came to Ukraine, cutting off the roads from Kharkov, Galya decided to cross the front line and get to the Soviets. Probably, the news that the White Guards brutally torture the communists and deal with them played a role in this decision. With great ordeals and delays, she finally reaches the Red Army unit, where she is arrested, suspecting that she is a White Guard spy, of which, by the way, there were many in those days. Benislavskaya's friend Yana Kozlovskaya, who lived in Moscow in the twenties, said that her father, an old Bolshevik, took part in the fate of Gali: she was released, left for Moscow and went to work as a secretary in the Cheka, and then moved to the same position in editorial office of the newspaper "Poornota." This twenty-three-year-old girl in her short life endured as much as another woman would not survive in her entire life. and Sergei listened to her opinion. "
Benislavskaya was very fond of poetry, especially Blok, she often visited the literary cafe "Stable of Pegasus", where in the early twenties the best poets of Moscow gathered to read their poems, argue, debate, read out poetic manifestos. On one of the evenings in 1916, Benislavskaya first saw Yesenin, heard how inspiredly he reads his poems (as I. Danchenko writes in his book "Love and Death of Sergei Yesenin").
This is how Benislavskaya herself recalls this meeting; “Slightly throwing back his head and waist, he begins to read:
Spit, wind, with armfuls of leaves,
-I am the same as you, bully.
He is the whole element, mischievous, rebellious, unrestrained element, not only in poetry, but in every movement that reflects the movement of the verse. Flexible, violent, like the wind, the wind would have given Yesenin prowess. Where is he, where are his poems and where is his wild prowess - how can you separate ?! All this has merged into unrestrained impetuosity, and, perhaps, the poems do not capture so much as this spontaneity. Then he read "Trumpets, blows the perilous horn! ..." What happened after reading it is difficult to convey. All suddenly jumped up from their seats and rushed to the stage, to him. They not only shouted to him, they prayed to him: “Read something else” ... When I came to my senses, I saw that I was also at the stage itself. How I got there, I don’t know and don’t remember. Obviously, this wind caught and spun me too.
A competition of poets has been announced in the Polytechnic Museum ... Our naivety in relation to Yesenin knew no limits. Who should we vote for? We timidly decide - for Yesenin, embarrassed because we do not understand - is it arrogance on our part or we are really right in our belief that Yesenin is the first poet in Russia. But we will still vote for him. And suddenly - disappointment! Some small fry is involved, but Yesenin did not even pass. It became boring and uninteresting. Suddenly I turn my head to the left towards the entrance and ... below, at the very doors, I can see a golden head! I jumped up and screamed to the whole audience: "Yesenin has come!" Immediately confusion and commotion. The howl began: "Yesenin, Yesenin, Yesenin!" Part of the audience is shocked. Someone turned to me with a sneer: "What, you want to hear about the moon?" She only snapped back and continued to call Yesenin with others. Yesenin was dragged in his arms and put on the table - it was impossible not to read, they would not have let go anyway. He read a little, did not participate in the competition, performed out of competition, but it was clear that there was no need for him to participate, it is clear that he, he was the first one ”.
She was fond of the poetry of Yesenin and Shahane Terteryan (Talyan). It is known that the poet often read new works to her, talked to her about the merits of Persian poets, took books from her home library (for example, "Armenian Anthology" translated by V. Bryusov), and when parting gave her his poetry collection "Moscow tavern" (1924)., Accompanied by a dedication: “My dear Shagane. You are pleasant and sweet to me. S. Yesenin ". Echoes of all this can be found in the "Persian Motives" dedicated to Shagane.
Evening light of the saffron edge,
Quietly the roses run through the fields.
Sing me a song my dear
The one that Hayam sang.
Quietly the roses run through the fields.
Shiraz is shining with moonlight,
A swarm of moths swirls around the stars.
I don't like that the Persians
They keep women and maidens under the veil.
Shiraz is shining with moonlight.
Or they froze from the heat,
Closing solid copper?
Or to be loved more,
They do not want to tan their faces,
Closing solid copper?
Darling, don't be friends with the chador,
Learn this commandment briefly,
After all, our life is so short,
It is not enough to admire happiness.
Learn this commandment briefly.
Even everything ugly in rock
It overshadows its own grace.
That's why beautiful cheeks
It is a sin to close to the world,
Kohl gave them their mother.
Quietly the roses run through the fields.
The heart is dreaming of a different country.
I will sing to you myself, dear,
What Hayam hasn't sung before ...
Quietly the roses run through the fields.
There are also preserved records of the memoirs of contemporaries about the first acquaintance of Galina Benislavskaya and Yesenin. This is how M. Raisman describes these events in the book “Everything I remember about Yesenin”.
“On the night of June 10, 1921, we merrily pasted leaflets about 'General Mobilization' in dark Moscow. We were helped by Yesenin's friend Anya Nazarova and Galya Benislavskaya.
Galya played a great noble role in Sergei's life. When he introduced me to her, he said:
“Treat her better than me!” “Okay, Seryozha! argued or laughed recklessly, looked through something boyish. She looked like a Georgian. Galya was distinguished by a peculiar beauty, attractiveness. Galya combed her short hair in a parted part, like a young man, wore a modest dress with long sleeves and, talking, she loved to put her hands in tax. In the presence of Sergei, whom she loved very much, Galya blossomed, a gentle blush appeared on her cheeks, her movements became light. Her eyes, falling into the sun's rays, lit up like two emeralds. They knew this. Jokingly, they said that she was from the breed of cats. Galya did not answer, smiling shyly. She walked, rearranging her legs in a straight line and raising her knees a little higher than required. As if riding a bicycle, which the observant Yesenin noticed first. ... Some people called her the Yesenin cyclist behind her back. "
It seems to me that there was not only an external, but also a spiritual similarity between Shagane and Benislavskaya.
“Since then, endless joyful meetings have gone in a long line” - Benislavskaya recalled - “I lived in the evenings - from one to the other. His (Yesenin's) poetry captivated me no less than he himself. Therefore, every literary evening was a double joy: poetry and he. "
Of course, Sergei's marriage to Isadora Duncan, his departure abroad were a heavy blow for Gali. Living in a cold, "ration" capital alone, without parents, without relatives, she was treated in the clinic for her nervous diseases. I waited with trepidation for Yesenin's arrival. I met her sometimes on the street, she always went with her friends, and her first question was:
Do you know when Sergei Alexandrovich will return? "
The fact that after Yesenin's arrival from abroad, Benislavskaya experienced, can be read in her diary, in the book of A.G. Samusevich "Wreath for Yesenin". Here are some excerpts from her memoirs: “... After abroad, Sergei Alexandrovich felt in my attitude towards him something that was not in the attitude of friends, that for me there are values above my own well-being. I remember that on an autumn night we walked along Tverskaya to the Aleksandrovsky railway station. T.K. Yesenin pulled us into the night tea room, then, naturally, the conversation turned to his illness (Yesenin and Verzhbitsky walked in front). It was a period when Yesenin was on the edge, when he sometimes himself said that now nothing would help, and when he immediately asked for help to get out of this state and help finish with Duncan ...
I. Schneider wrote about the role Benislavskaya played in the breakdown of relations between Yesenin and Duncan:
“I sent a telegram to cancel the performances. I telegraphed to Moscow, to the school that we were in Yalta. I sent the same telegram from Isadora to Yesenin.
The next evening, after supper, we returned soaked to the hotel. In the lobby, the porter gave me two telegrams. One was addressed to Duncan. I opened her mail. Opened:
“Do not send any more letters, telegrams to Yesenin. He is with me, He will never return to you. Galina Benislavskaya ".
What is this telegram? Isadora asked.
From school.
Why two?
Sent one by one.
In the morning Irma persuaded me to tell Isadora about a strange telegram not known to any of us from Bsnislavskaya. Isadora was wounded by the telegram, but she pretended not to take her seriously. I told her that I had already telegraphed my deputy to Moscow and asked to find out if Sergei knew the content of the unexpected telegram.
In the afternoon, Isadora and I went out to the Yalta embankment.
I felt that Isadora in every possible way wanted to distract herself from the cruel telegram that tormented her. But this did not work, and soon we turned towards the hotel.
What do you think, - she asked, - maybe there is already an answer to your telegram?
By evening it will be ...
We started talking about something else ...
Are you sure this is so? - Isadora asked suddenly, interrupting an abstract conversation, started a lot. Seeing my bewildered face, she was embarrassed:
I'm talking about the answer to your telegram ... Will it arrive by evening? But the telegram was already waiting for us: "Sergei knows the content of the telegram" ...
Isadora climbed the stairs slowly. Seeing Irma, she whispered with her, and both bowed like conspirators over a sheet of paper. Soon, Isadora, looking inquiringly at me, held out a telegram they had drawn up:
“Moscow, Yesenin. Petrovka, Bogoslovsky. Bakhrushin's house.
Received a telegram must be your servant Benislavskaya writes not to send telegram letters to Bogoslovsky anymore unless I changed the address, please explain with a telegram I love Izador very much.
Many years later, I learned that Yesenin nevertheless answered Isadora's telegram.
On a piece of paper with a pencil, he began to sketch the answer: "I said back in Paris that I would go to Russia, you embittered me, I love you, but I will not live with you, now I am married and happy, I wish you the same, Yesenin."
Benislavskaya wrote in her diary that Yesenin gave her this telegram to read. She remarked that "if you finish, then it is better not to mention love" and so on. Yesenin turned the sheet over and wrote on the back in blue pencil.
"I love another, married and happy ..." and signed in large block letters: "Yesenin".
I thought that Isadora did not receive this telegram, because it was not sent, but a receipt for sending a telegram worth 439 rubles to Yalta on October 13 was glued to Yesenin's typed text. 50 kopecks. (banknotes of those days)
Benislavskaya also recalls how everyone laughed at her telegram to Duncan, but "such a defiant tone," she writes, was not at all in her spirit, it was all just "scaring away and nothing more ..."
When Yesenin was in the Caucasus, he sent Benislavskaya letter after letter, in which he shared with her his creative plans, joys, sometimes confessed, scolded himself for everyday mistakes. Their large correspondence has survived. Here are some excerpts from Yesenin's letters to Benislavskaya.
1. “Galya, dear! I am very ill and therefore I cannot write to you and tell you how I live in Batum. Only requests and requests. Reprint these verses and turn in wherever you want. You can sell my books without asking me. I hope for your taste in drawing up.
2. “Galya, my dear. Thank you for the letter, it made me happy. Honey, do everything as you find yourself. I have withdrawn too much into myself and I do not know anything about what I wrote yesterday and what I will write tomorrow. Only one thing lives in me now. I feel enlightened, I don’t need this silly, playful fame, I don’t need line-by-line success. I understood what poetry is.
In Galina Benislavskaya, a feeling of sublime love for the poet and a sense of understanding of his talent are inextricably combined. That is why she decided to devote herself to Yesenin's publishing business and taking care of him and his loved ones, which, of course, allowed the poet to focus exclusively on creativity. Letters have survived, testifying to how deeply Yesenin was grateful to his "guardian angel":
“Galya, dear! I repeat to you that you are very, very dear to me. And you yourself know that without your participation there would be a lot of deplorable things in my life. This is much better and more than I feel about women. You are so close to me in my life without this that it is impossible to express (from the letters of S. Yesenin to Benislavskaya, April 14, 1924).
Yesenin's friend, poet-imagist Wolf Ehrlich, recalls how enthusiastically the poet pronounced the name of Benislavskaya at that time:
“Now you will see Galya too! She is beautiful! ... Well then! Galya is my friend! More than a friend! Galya is my keeper! You render every service rendered to Gala to me! "
Yesenin owed a lot to Benislavskaya. In a difficult time for him (1923), when, returning from a trip abroad, he decided to break the marriage ties with the American dancer Isadora Duncan, when a deep chasm formed between him and the imagists (Mariengof, Shershenevich) and the poet was threatened by a spiritual vacuum, Galina Benislavskaya held out hand of friendship to him. Yesenin settled in Bryusovsky Lane in her apartment (in which, by the way, his sisters, Yekaterina and Alexandra, who arrived in Moscow, soon began to live). Yesenin's friends gathered here: poets and writers - Peter Oreshin, Vsevolod Ivanov, Boris Pilnyak, Vasily Nasedkin, Wolf Erlich was a frequent guest, Nikolai Klyuev also visited. This brightened up the everyday life of Yesenin's life, allowed him to communicate with fellow writers: “I work and write devilishly well” - we read in one of Yesenin's letters.
Let us turn again to the diary entries of Galina Benislavskaya in 1926, published by A.G. Samusevich:
“When Sergei Aleksandrovich moved to me, he gave me the keys to all the manuscripts and, in general, to all things, since he himself lost his keys, handed out manuscripts and photographs, and what he didn’t give out was taken away from him. He noticed the loss, grumbled, swore, but did not know how to protect, store and demand back. As for the manuscripts, letters and other things, he said that as he accumulated everything that was unnecessary at the moment to be transferred to Sasha (Sakharov) for safekeeping; - He has my archive, he has a lot in St. Petersburg. I give everything to him. "
“Friendship is like a winter road. To get lost in it is a trifle ", - Wolf Erlich later wrote -" Especially at night in separation. On the Volga, as soon as the ice gets stronger, snow falls and the first sledges will run along it, they begin to put up landmarks. They put it exactly, two fathoms from one another. It happens - a blizzard will cause snow, the road will fall asleep, and then they go along the landmarks. We had our own landmarks. Galina Arturovna Benislavskaya put them not two sazhens, less often, but still put them. They walked along them, until June 25th ... "
But back to the poem "Kachalov's Dog"
Lick her hand gently for me
For everything that I was and was not to blame.
Probably, there are still doubts about whether these lines of the poem are directly related to Galina Benislavskaya. Therefore, we will continue our research.
From the memoirs of Ilya Shneider:
“This girl, intelligent and deep, loved Yesenin devotedly and selflessly. Yesenin responded with a great friendly feeling.
Yesenin met Benislavskaya even before he met Duncan, but he never told us about her. She silently survived the whole romance and marriage with Duncan and the departure abroad. " How can you not remember the words "The one that is most silent and sad" ...
I would also like to cite some excerpts from the diary of Benislavskaya, led in those difficult times for her:
I would like to know what liar said that you can not be jealous! Honestly, I would like to see this idiot! This is nonsense! You can have great control over yourself, you can not pretend, more than that - you can play happy when you really feel that you are the second; you can, finally, even deceive yourself, but still, if you really love, you cannot be calm when the beloved sees and feels the other. Otherwise it means - you love a little. You cannot calmly know that he prefers someone to you, and not feel pain from this consciousness. As if you are drowning in this feeling. I know one thing - I will not do stupid things and tricks, but that I am drowning and, choking, I want to extricate myself, this is absolutely clear to me. And if, besides me, there were more, it’s nothing. If for that - very, very good, but since she is in front of me ... And yet I will love, I will be meek and devoted, in spite of any suffering and humiliation.
The book of youth is closed
All, alas, has already been read.
And ended forever
Clear joy spring ...
Yes, it was already closed that year, but I, dull, saw it now! I know that all forces should be directed so that I do not want to read it again and again, again and again, but I know, I will love again and again, the blood will light up more than once, but so, so I will not love anyone, with my whole being, leaving nothing for yourself, but giving everything. And I will never regret that it was like this, although it hurt more often than it was good, but “joy - suffering is one thing,” and yet it was good, there was happiness; I am grateful for him, though I involuntarily want to repeat:
Youth, youth! Like a May night
You rang out the steppe bird cherry in the provinces
My God! Is it time?
It turned out ... it seemed only yesterday ...
Dear ones ... dear ... good, good ...
And when I overcome everything in myself, the warmth and the best will remain in me - to him. It's funny, but when the Polytechnic calls, it thunders; "Yesenin" - I have a happy pride, like me.
And how devastated everything inside is, after all, there is and you will not find anything equal, than you can fill everything that has been devastated.
My attitude to life and to everything has changed, just changed. So I realized that Yesenin is not alone in life, that he can and should be loved, as the main thing, but love is disinterested, not greedy love that requires something from him, but the way you love the forest, not demanding that the forest lived in conformity with me, or he was where I was.
If I want to be not a girl, if my feminine spoke in me, even if it woke up thanks to him, then I have to be sincere to the end, and not just admit in words that this does not give me any rights. If, in spite of everything, I suffer inside, then I want to have these rights. Is this desire for them really love? Sometimes I think so. .... I often used to think - is not the victory over physical need the greatest proof of my love; it seemed to me that, having preserved "physical innocence", I would make the most difficult sacrifice of love for E / senin /. Nobody but him. But this would not be at the same time proof that I was waiting and that this caused my attitude, my devotion to this very artificial fidelity .... And if I want to be a woman, then no one dares to forbid me or reproach me for this! (His words). ... The fire is gone, there is an even flame. And it's not E / Senin's fault / if I don't see people among those around me, everyone is boring to me, he has nothing to do with it. I remember when I “cheated” on / to him / s I, and I find it terribly funny. Is it possible to change a person whom you "love more than yourself?" And I “cheated” with bitter anger at / Yesenin / and tried to inflate the slightest movement of sensuality in myself, however, curiosity was mixed with this ... "
“Yesenin never played a trick. Loving and appreciating Galina as his rarest friend, at the same time in March 1925, when nothing seemed to threaten their friendship-love, he wrote her a short letter: “Dear Galya! You are close to me as a friend, but I do not at all love you as a woman ”- wrote I. Schneider. He continued: “It was a hard blow, but, nevertheless, Benislavskaya did not leave him and took care of him. Only when, after her telegram to Yalta, which led to a break between Duncan and Yesenin, two years passed, Yesenin's marriage to the granddaughter of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy forced Benislavskaya to move away from him. Yesenin took this departure of his friend hard. "
Of course, the break with Benislavskaya could not but affect the state of mind of S. Yesenin. The "landmarks" that Wolf Ehrlich wrote about were broken, and it was far from easy to find new ones. Probably sad about friendship with Galina Arturovna, Yesenin wrote:
I remember, darling, I remember
The shine of your hair.
Not happy and not easy, to me
I happened to leave you.
I remember autumn nights
Birch rustle of shadows
Even though the days were shorter then
The moon shone for us longer.
I remember you told me:
“The blue years will pass,
And you will forget, my dear,
With my friend forever. "
Today the linden tree is in bloom
Reminded by feeling again
How gently then I poured
Flowers on a curly strand.
And the heart, to cool down without getting ready
And loving another sadly,
Like a favorite story
On the other, he remembers you.
1925
Marriage with S.A. Tolstoy was not happy for Yesenin.
“On one of these days of melancholy,” recalls Sofya Vinogradskaya
- “he came to say goodbye. It was the summer of 1925. His face was crumpled, he often stroked his hair, and a great inner pain peeped out of his eyes.
Sergei Alexandrovich, what's wrong with you, why are you like that?
Yes, you know, I live with my unloved. Why did you get married?
Well-o-o-o-o! What for? Yes, out of spite, it turned out like this. He left Gali, but nowhere to go.
In December 1925, a tragedy occurred at the Angleterre Hotel. The day before his death, Yesenin presented Wolf Ehrlich with a famous poem, the last poem written by the poet.
Goodbye my friend, goodbye
My dear, you are in my chest.
The intended parting
Promises to meet ahead.
Goodbye my friend, no hand, no word,
Do not be sad and not sadness of eyebrows, -
In this life, dying is nothing new
But living, of course, is not new.
1925
On December 24, 1925, Yesenin arrived from Moscow to Leningrad and stayed at the Angleterre Hotel. On December 25, 26, 27, he met with his friends, many were in his room.
E. A. Ustinova, who lived in this hotel, recalled that on the afternoon of December 27, she went into Yesenin's room: “Sergei Alexandrovich began to complain that in this 'lousy' hotel there was not even ink, and he had to write in blood today. Soon the poet Erlich came. Sergei Alexandrovich went up to the table, tore out the poem he had written from his notebook in the morning, and thrust it into the inner pocket of his jacket. Ehrlich reached out with his hand for the sheet, but Yesenin stopped him; "Then read it, don't!" ("Memories" p. 470).
V. Ehrlich recalls: “At about eight o'clock and I got up to leave. Goodbye. I returned from Nevsky a second time: I forgot my briefcase ... Yesenin was sitting at the table calm, without a jacket, putting on a fur coat, and looking through old poems. An open file lay on the table. We said goodbye a second time. ("Memoirs" p. 466).
Why Yesenin presented his poem, poetic
revelation to Ehrlich? Isn't that why, a hundred was sure that he would show it to Galina Benislavskaya (after all, it was Ehrlich that the poet spoke so sublimely about the one “who is the most silent and sadder”). Perhaps it is to her that the last poem of Sergei Yesenin is dedicated.
By the way, saying goodbye to Shahane Terteryan (Talyan), Yesenin wrote:
Goodbye, peri, goodbye
May I not be able to unlock the door
You gave beautiful suffering
To me to sing about you at home.
Goodbye, peri, goodbye.
The poem "There are such doors in Khorossan ..." 1925 There are some common motives, and they evoke the old associations.
The circle of research is almost complete. The last line of the poem "Kachalov's Dog" ("For everything in which he was and was not to blame") expresses a disturbing feeling that did not leave Yesenin, perhaps, until the last day of his life.
From the memoirs of I. Schneider:
“Galina Benislavskaya, almost a year after the poet's death, on December 3, 1926, committed suicide at Yesenin's grave and bequeathed to bury her next to him.
She left two notes on Yesenin's grave. One is a simple postcard: “December 3, 1926. She killed herself here, although I know that after that even more dogs will be hanged on Yesenin ... But he and I don't care. In this grave, everything is most precious to me ... ”Apparently, Galina came to the grave in the afternoon. She had a revolver, a Finnish woman and a box of Mosaic cigarettes. She smoked the whole box and, when it got dark, broke off the lid of the box and wrote on it: “If the Finn after the shot is stuck in the grave, then she didn’t regret it even then. If it's a pity - I'll throw it far away. " In the dark, she wrote another crooked line: "I misfire." There were a few more misfires, and only for the sixth time - a shot rang out. The bullet hit the heart ... "
Afterword I
I visited the Sergei Yesenin Museum, the one on Bolshoy Strochenovsky Lane. I must say that there is almost no material on Bepislavskaya, and the guide did not add anything to what I found about this woman. But it was there, in the museum, that I saw a recording of a small film where a famous actress reads Benislavskaya's diaries.
They supplemented my idea of the mysterious image that is presented in Yesenin's poetic novellas.
I realized how much Yesenin was guilty before Galina. In her words - a great love for the poet, a desire to help him, to support in the last years of her life, spent mainly in taverns, drunkenness, scandals. But at the same time, I heard about the deep heartache, about the huge resentment that has accumulated in the tortured soul of this woman.
I confess, I wanted to say to Sergei Yesenin: "Dear Sergei Alexandrovich! If you have never loved Benislavskaya as a woman, why did you give hope, returned to her. It is not fair, because for her you were everything: Motherland, mother and father, friend, beloved - all ".
During the excursion, I saw a room in which the great poet lived for some time.
Afterword 2
It is late autumn at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. There are armfuls of fresh flowers on Yesenin's grave. And one flower, just one, on a small chest - a pedestal, under which lies the heroine of my story, the main person of my research - Galina Arturovna Benislavskaya.
I look at these two monuments and remember the lines of the poem "Vagankovo", written by my teacher of literature, A. Vladimirova:
There every weekday and Sunday
The sunset is burning with a candle.
And from his height Sergei Yesenin
She speaks with Galina Benislavskaya.
Yes, I think, probably their souls talk to each other on long winter evenings. She loved, He did not love. Is it important now?
You are right, Dostoevsky, because indeed "man is a mystery."
As any lover of the work of Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin knows, he was a favorite with women. And this circumstance greatly influenced his life. Many modern critics have a question: "What was it that attracted the opposite sex to Yesenin?" And there are certain answers to this too ...First of all, I would like to note his exquisite and irresistible appearance, which attracted and attracted women. An equally important reason is the ability to conduct a conversation. As Yesenin's contemporaries previously wrote in their essays, the poet's voice was able to fascinate and attract girls.
Sergey could create an attractive conversation not only with the opposite sex. Growing up in the village, the poet easily found a common language with pets. The most striking example of such communication is a poem, which he dedicated to Katchalov's dog. This work was created in 1925, when the writer was in his prime and already had life experience.
Give me a paw for luck, Jim,
I have never seen such a paw before.
Let's bark with you in the moonlight
For quiet, noiseless weather.
Give me a paw for luck, Jim.
Please, darling, don't lick.
Understand with me at least the simplest.
You don't know what life is
You don’t know that life is worth living.
Your master is sweet and famous
And he has many guests in his house,
And everyone, smiling, strives
Touch your velvet coat.
You're dog-like devilishly handsome
With such a sweet, trusting friend.
And without asking anyone a drop,
Like a drunken friend, you climb to kiss.
My dear Jim, among your guests
There were so many of them.
But the one that is most silent and sad,
Didn't you come here by chance?
She will come, I give you a guarantee.
And without me, in her gaze,
Lick her hand gently for me
For everything that I was and was not to blame.
What is the story of the creation of the creation of "Katchalov's Dog" interesting?
The true truth is written in the work. Yes, in fact there was such a dog at that time, and her name was Jim. She lived in the house of the then famous actor Vasily Ivanovich Kachalov, who was known almost all over the world for his theatrical skills.Sergei Yesenin was on friendly terms with the actor and often visited his house. It should be noted that pets always feel goodwill from good people. That is why the dog very quickly fell in love with the visiting guest and became very attached to him.
The pet was looking forward to the next meeting with Yesenin, and the poet, in turn, always brought the dog a variety of delicacies. This is how friendly ties appeared not only with the owner of the house, but also with his dog.
It should also be noted that the work created by Sergei Yesenin and dedicated to the dog is not so delicate as it seems at first glance. The poem has a sad subtext.
Features of the first part of the poem "Kachalov's Dog"
As it became known after many years, the poet Sergei Yesenin at that time was followed by state services. He understood and felt this, the poet knew that such an attitude of the authorities towards him would not end well. This evoked sadness and a certain absurdity.The state of mind during the years of the creation of the work was also inspired by sad notes due to a break with Isadora Duncan, who was an important person in his life.
Perhaps it was these events that influenced the fact that the beginning of the work about the dog begins very strictly. In the plot, the author invites the dog to howl to the moon with him.
At first glance, the reader should have thought that Yesenin was obliged to be cheerful and cheerful, because he was in the warm atmosphere of his friend's house. Instead, we are talking about everyday difficulties, and the author begins to pour out his soul to the dog. He explains to the dog that he does not know real life at all.
These features indicate that the eminent handsome man of that time at the time of writing the work was very sad in his soul. From the very first lines, a sad negative is traced, and there is no hint of positive emotions.
Features of the second part of the poem "Kachalov's Dog"
The poem is almost completely permeated with sadness and regret. Confirmation that it is the woman who is the culprit of his sad state is found in the last lines of the work. Stanzas in a peculiar way convince the reader that the reason for the depressed state of mind is in his relationship with some girl. It should be noted that on the eve of writing the poem, in the 25th year of the last century, the author met an Armenian teacher. It happened in the city of Batumi and her name was Shahane Talyan. The fact that the girl sunk into the poet's soul is confirmed by the lines dedicated to her. Earlier Yesenin wrote a work - "You are my Shagan, Shagan". But the likelihood that the poet was sad about her was tried to dispel Shagane herself when she stated that she and Sergei had never had an affair.
At the time of writing the work "Kachalov's Dog" Sergei Yesenin had already parted with the girl. The woman, all over Russia, denied his words that they allegedly had an affair. She said they only had friendships. It should be noted that Yesenin's nature was very amorous, so many biographers believe that the version about friendship can be discarded.
Why are the final lines of the work interesting?
Whatever it really is, the last lines of the work "Kachalov's Dog" most fully and colorfully tell that it was sad love that was the reason for the creation of the poem. The relationship, perhaps unrequited, was the reason for the creation of a masterpiece.In the plot, or rather, in his conclusion, Yesenin praises the dog, saying that he is handsome, and pays special attention to his coat, which is velvety and very pleasant to iron. The author also notes that the beauty of the dog attracts everyone who comes to visit Kachalov, everyone wants to pet a pet.
The work contains a description of many of the animal's merits, which are beautifully painted by Yesenin. Here the author also describes himself, says that he is supposedly gullible and has an open soul. These peculiar qualities are combined with the qualities inherent in the dog, therefore, it seems that the author wanted to show a certain similarity between the animal and the person.
In the last lines of the work, the poet begins to ask questions of the pet. He asks him if the woman who is usually sad and silent has visited their house. According to the author, although the dog Jim has seen many guests in his lifetime, he could not help remembering this woman.
In the formation of the question, a kind of hope is traced. The reader immediately senses that parting with a young girl led the poet to mental distress.
Some critics cite a different development of events as an example. Perhaps Sergei Yesenin at that time suffered greatly from unrequited love. This version is considered implausible, because he was considered very popular among the opposite sex and could easily fall in love with anyone.
It should be noted that even his literary secretary, whose name was Galina Benislavskaya, showed sympathy for Yesenin. This woman loved the poet for many years, and was ready to share him with other women, as long as he was always near her. She was afraid of losing Yesenin.
Even after the poet died, she could not bear the loss. The woman went to the cemetery, where the young poet was buried, left a note in which it was written that Galina asked to be buried near him. Then she shot herself.
Based on the above, we can logically conclude that the critics' version of unrequited love is complete nonsense.
Who, after all, was the poet's muse?
It should also be noted that at the time the poem was being written, officially Sergei Yesenin was not free. He was married to Sophia Tolstoy. This connection weighed on the poet, since in relation to her he did not experience any special feelings. So what prompted the fact that the subject matter of the poem developed precisely in such a spiritual direction? As can be seen from the above, there could be several reasons for this. At the time of the creation of the work, he parted with his wife, Isadora Duncan. Sergei Yesenin loved his homeland very much, and could not adapt to the life of a dancer. He decided to leave Duncan and go to Russia.
It should be noted that the poem "Kachalov's Dog" was listened to attentively by the dog Jim himself. Before him, the author repented of his perfect deeds. He told the dog how he offended some women who showed feelings for him.
Probably, Sergei Alexandrovich made a collective image of his beloved woman, but it was this verse that became very famous due to the sincerity and touchingness that the poet put into the lyrical lines.
Give me a paw for good luck
And look with loving eyes ...
After all, it's not my fault that under the moon
We cry together with warm tears ...
... You, my eared friend, do not know
How hard it is sometimes to break the road
When everything comes crashing down and up and down
And you are delirious, crying to God in your soul ..
... Do you remember how you were sick, then in winter
And I spent the night with you in hope
How I warmed your nose with a cold warm hand
And you swallowed pills ... and growled ...
... Now I'm sick ... Forgive my absurdity ...
And you can't cry from powerlessness ...
Only time knows our friendship is a fortress
After all, one cannot live a day without each other ...
... But everything will pass ... One early morning
You will jump out the door with the same barking ...
I'll jump out after ... you wait a minute ...
After all, in our thoughts together we are now ...
Reviews
A very touching poem. I would say - shrill.
The friendship between man and animal is very valuable. And how painful it can be to lose such a friend ...
In this work, you can feel the mood of the author and his experiences, which make the poems alive and sincere.
Thank you,
with warmth and respect
The Poetry.ru portal provides authors with the opportunity to freely publish their literary works on the Internet on the basis of a user agreement. All copyrights for works belong to the authors and are protected by law. Reprinting of works is possible only with the consent of its author, to whom you can refer on his author's page. Authors bear responsibility for the texts of works independently on the basis of
Loading...