Count Nulin
Count Nulin ( Russian Граф Нулин ) is a parody in rhyme form by Alexander Sergejewitsch Pushkin .
content
Natalja Pavlovna's (Natascha) husband rides out on a hunt one morning while she stays behind on the farm. She approaches her day listless and tired when Count Nulin (whom she doesn't know before) suffers a carriage accident on the way past her house. He has just come from Paris, which he had to leave because of money debt. Nevertheless, he intends to continue his lavish lifestyle in St. Petersburg. He is invited to spend the night at the manor. At dinner they both chat about Parisian social life. Nulin is well versed in all gossip and fashion. His expression is extremely graceful. Natascha, on the other hand, is enthusiastic despite her not quite young age, which makes him completely in love . After going to bed, Nulin thinks about the evening again and comes to the conclusion that the (actually) all too flirtatious Natascha is up for an affair. So he sneaks into her room like a cat . After a brief reflection, the initially frightened woman slaps him in the face. Nulin withdraws disappointed. The next morning, guest (embarrassed and worried) and hostess (again flirtatious and in good spirits) have breakfast together again as if nothing had happened. Even when the husband returns from the hunt (he only shot one hare, which he proudly tells), not a word is spoken. Then Count Nulin (in German: Count Zero) leaves in a hurry and relieved in the repaired carriage. Natascha immediately reports the incident to her horned husband and lets him pursue Nulin.
The plot closes with the 23-year-old neighbor Lidin (unknown to the reader) - unlike the husband - has a good laugh.
Finally, the loyalty of women is praised, which is still to be found today. This is the kicker of the story. Natascha is not loyal to her husband, but to her young lover Lidin. She doesn't want to swap him for the - very fashionable, but elderly and ridiculous-looking - Count.
intertextuality
The subject of the Lucretia tragedy only shimmers through in a distant way. The text differs significantly from the original. The figures also do not fulfill the expected function. Because although Count Nulin is brought closer to Tarquin by the author (Nulin is said to be “Tarquin's fiery comrade [..]”) and Natascha to Lucretia's (“a new Tarquinius goes on an adventure to Lucretia”) It turns out early on that neither of them can do justice to the role model. The drama leads to a slap in the face, instead of a rape.
Nulin does not only fail in the attempt to “seduce”, he also wakes the whole court. It is questionable to what extent one can speak of an explicit Lucretia parody, because at the time of writing the material was largely unknown in Russia.