I received a comment about one of my recent posting https://vahezen.blogspot.com/2019/12/simple-thoughts-to-end-2019.html
where I mentioned Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago and said that the name meant “life”
in Russian. The comment I got (the
complete message can be seen at the bottom of the above essay) includes:
"Zhivago,
a name that means life in Russian" - this is what wikipedia climes with
reference to Mary and Paul Rowland (Rowland, Mary F. and Paul Rowland.
Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Southern Illinois University Press: 1967.) By
Russians it is not so simple and the name Живаго comes from a prayer that
impressed Pasternak in his childhood "Ты есть воистину Христос, сын Бога
живаго" , https://goldlit.ru/pasternak/428-juri-jivago-obraz.
I did visit the suggested site which is in Russian,
and if the translation is correct, then Pasternak’s character of Yuri has a
name that goes beyond a boy’s name (ie. Zhivago or Jivago) but represents the character
itself. As such, and based on reported influence on Pasternak a line from a
prayer has had, the better interpretation of Dr. Zhivago may be “a doctor for
all living”.
I appreciate the comment I received as it got me researching
and learning more about the history of the name and why Pasternak may have used
it in his novel. While I understand that it is correct that outside the novel
itself, Jivago is the name of a boy and means life, it is equally correct that
Pasternak may have used the name to define a character and the socio-political context
of the times.
So, Omar Sharif impersonated a character that mixed
the goodness of a healer to the analysis of politics. Here is an example of
what he said:
“Ah, but
cutting out the tumors of injustice, that’s a deep operation. Someone must keep
life alive while you do it, by living. Isn’t that right?”
After receiving the comment about my
incomplete statement now I know more about Pasternak’s creativity in choosing
a name that meant more than a name. It was a symbolic encapsulation of the
times.
December 28, 2019
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment