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Nina Berberova's Short Fiction of the 1930S Dominique Hoffman View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository Without Nostalgia: Nina Berberova’s Short Fiction of the 1930s Dominique Hoffman A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Chapel Hill 2011 Approved by: Madeline Levine Christopher Putney Radislav Lapushin Hana Pichova Lawrence Feinberg ABSTRACT DOMINIQUE HOFFMAN: Without Nostalgia: Nina Berberova’s Short Fiction of the 1930s (Under the direction of Madeline G. Levine) In the years following the Russian revolutions and Civil War, millions of Russians fled their homeland. These exiles formed a richly diverse society within exile known as Russia Abroad. They established schools, churches, publishing houses, newspapers and journals. Nina Berberova (1901-1993) was an integral participant of Russia Abroad, working at the largest circulation newspaper, Poslednie novosti, and frequently publishing in the most respected thick journal of the emigration, Sovremennye zapiski. Berberova, along with Vladimir Nabokov and Gaito Gazdanov, was recognized by émigré critics as among the most promising young writers. My dissertation, “Without Nostalgia: Nina Berberova’s Short Fiction of the 1930s,” explores her representations of exile during the “Hollow Years” of 1930s France. Berberova’s work was obsessively focused on representations of the exile experience, but she steadfastly rejected the nostalgia which characterized much émigré writing. From 1925, Paris was the center of Russia Abroad. During the 1930s, the decade in which the younger generation reached maturity as writers, conditions steadily deteriorated in France. In this dissertation, I examine three central fictional texts Berberova wrote in the course of the 1930s, which respond to the shifting concerns of Russia Abroad. I begin by looking at her Billancourt Tales, published serially in the newspaper Poslednie novosti from 1929-1934. In ii these works, Berberova depicts an exile community characterized by a persistent sense of un- ease. Berberova’s consistent rejection of nostalgia emerges clearly in this series of story- feuilletons. I then consider Roquenval: the Chronicle of a Chateau, written in the middle of the decade, which draws on the tropes of 19th century literature to explore a young émigré’s search for identity. In this novella, Berberova shows that the conventions of Russian gentry estate literature cannot provide meaning in 20th century France. Finally, at the close of the 1930s, on the eve of the war, Berberova published Astashev in Paris. In Astashev, Berberova depicts the apotheosis of bourgeois banality and triviality, ultimately linking those traits to fascism. Although she published extensive memoirs, there is no published biography of Berberova. I have included an appendix with a brief biographical sketch of Berberova’s life. iii To Sasha, Sophia and Kai – who make each day more rich than I could ever have imagined iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciation to the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for supporting my studies and research with teaching appointments and fellowships over the years. I am more appreciative each year for the quality of the education I received in Chapel Hill. I’d like to express my appreciation to my dissertation committee members Larry Feinberg, Chris Putney, Radislav Lapushin and Hana Pichova, whose patience, careful reading and thoughtful responses immensely improved the quality of this work. My dissertation advisor, Madeline Levine, has been a model of the academic life to me for two decades now. Her unwavering encouragement and confidence have been invaluable. Her concern for students, her absolute integrity and her passion for learning continue to inspire me. In my efforts to understand Berberova and her work, three people were extremely helpful. Ruth Rischin and Murl Barker generously shared their time and memories. Through them, I gained an invaluable image of Nina Nikolaevna as a person, friend, and teacher. Berberova’s translator, Marian Schwartz, also offered her time and helpful insights in the early stages of this project. v Thank you to my mother and father who always challenged me to think and never doubted my ability to achieve my goals. My grandfather, Jack, supported this project by both material support and personal example. His dedicated pursuit of his own Ph.D. became the stuff of family lore: years of travel between school and work, the 1200-page index written out on rolls of newsprint, and a doctorate, at last, at the ripe age of 53. So many friends have offered support and encouragement at different waypoints in this journey. In particular, Lee-Ellen, Jeny, and Jenn whose boundless confidence in me, unwavering support, and late-night laughs and tears helped me to stay sane and grounded. And Michael. This doctorate would have remained a lost opportunity without your encouragement. Your generosity and insight not only enabled the achievement of this dream, but inspire me each and every day. vi A Note on Transliteration This dissertation utilizes the Library of Congress system for transliteration of Russian without diacritical marks. In the case of familiar Russian names, the common Latin alphabet form is used. (e.g.: Tchaikovsky rather than Chaikovskii) In quotations from English- language translations, the original transliteration system is retained. vii Table of Contents Chapter I. INTRODUCTION!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!#! II. BILLANCOURT TALES: COMMUNITY OF THE DISPLACED!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!##! III. ROQUENVAL: THE FAILURES OF MEMORY!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!$%! IV. ASTASHEV: THE TRIUMPH OF VULGARITY!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!##&! V. CONCLUSION!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!#&'! APPENDIX ONE: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!#%%! WORKS CONSULTED!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""!#'$! viii INTRODUCTION ! "# $ %&'"(")#, * -- $ +,-.a")#, I'm not going into exile… but on a mission. Nina Berberova, 1924-1926 Nina Berberova (1901-1993) was one of the best-known authors of the younger generation of Russia Abroad. She came of age during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution and Civil War and emigrated from Russia as a young woman in 1922. She lived and worked in Paris, the cultural center of the emigration from 1925 to 1950. Her period of greatest productivity and maturation as a writer coincided with the 1930s – a decade of economic, political and social challenges both in the émigrés’ new home and in the Soviet Union. During the 1930s, Berberova wrote a series of stories and novellas which were deeply rooted in the life of Russia Abroad (Zarubezhnaia Rossiia). Her work was noted for its consistent representation of exile and unique in its rejection of the nostalgia which permeated émigré writing at the time. As one critic noted after the publication of her book of stories and novellas Oblegchenie uchasti, /#01#0,$( 2# %&,10(2(#3 ,4052(6756 ## 2%&") 05--4,8 9:%'0(;%% - 3,8 2# +0,-3,3,8, - 3#: 2# +0,"%4",$#"%#:, - 3,8 2# +0($<%$,-3)6, - 4(4%:% 5 +%-(3#.#8 &,.,3,', $#4( 05--4,8 .%3#0(350= ,30(2(.(-) 0,--%8-4(* <#8-3$%3#.)",-3)… >.* /#01#0,$,8 $ ;#"30# $-#'<( ?#.,$#?#-4(* .%?",-3), 2%$57(* -$,#8 #<%"-3$#"",8 "#+,$3,0%:,8 2%&")6. (ERG, quoted in Yellen 109) Berberova depicts the world around her – the life of the Russian emigration – with the same simplicity, with the same insight, with the same truthfulness, with which the writers of the Golden Age of Russian literature reflected Russian reality… For Berberova, the human personality is always at the center, living its single unrepeatable life.1 Berberova’s characteristic emphasis on the psychological experience of emigration can be seen in the earliest works which brought her fame, the Billancourt Tales, published serially in the émigré newspaper Poslednie novosti (The Latest News) from 1929 to 1934. Émigré poet and literary critic Vladislav Khodasevich wrote of the integral nature of the emigration to the development of Berberova’s prose: @#$,.6;%* % 9:%'0(;%* — ,3"6<) "# -.5?(8"=# <(3=, 4 4,3,0=: +0%50,?#"= -,1=3%* $ +%-("%*A /#01#0,$,8. B"% % "# <#4,0(;%%, "( C,"# 4,3,0=A 93% -,1=3%* 0(&$#03=$(63-*. B"% -53) +0%?%"= 93%A -,1=3%8. D5<)1= 1#01#0,$-4%A '#0,#$ % '#0,%") -$*&("= - 0#$,.6;%#8 % 9:%'0(;%#8 ,0'("%?#-4%. (1937) The revolution and emigration are, by no means, chance dates to which the events in Berberova’s writing are grafted. Nor are they scenery, on the background of which events unfold. They are the essence of the reason for these events. The fates of Berberova’s characters are organically connected to the revolution and emigration. As Khodasevich noted elsewhere in the same article, “People whose life stories were not tied to the Russian catastrophe held almost no interest for Berberova.”2 Poet and critic Georgy Adamovich, who was locked in literary polemics with Khodasevich
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