Wilhelm Küchelbecker, poet and rebel
Wilhelm Küchelbecker, poet and rebel ( Russian Кюхля , Kjuchlja - Küchel ) is a historical novel by the Soviet writer Yuri Tynjanow from 1925. The author of this biography in prose sums up that Küchelbecker's friends always wanted to find a permanent place for the restless poet. That failed every time. Hounded and tormented by the tsar's officials , the rebel was ultimately inferior to the “regulators”.
Gustav Kiepenheuer brought Maria Einstein's translation to the German-language book market in Berlin in 1929 . The novel has been translated into Dutch ( Kjoechlja ), French ( Le Disgracié ) and Slovak ( Čudák Willi ).
Manhunt
After the failed Decembrist uprising in Saint Petersburg in December 1825, Wilhelm Küchelbecker, who was on the run, was described in a secret letter dated January 4, 1826 signed by Minister of War A. I. Tatishchev as "long and gaunt". It goes on to say: “Eyes bulging, hair brown, contorting the mouth when speaking; no sideburns, little beard; Bad posture, crooked gait; speaks stretched. "
action
- Willi
When the 13-year-old noble Wilhelm, called Willi, graduated from the boarding school in Verro with honors, his mother, the widow Ustinja Jakowlewna, convened the family council. Willi is sent to the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum . The recently opened elite school for boys is only half an hour's walk from the family council meeting place. Willis' future school friends Baron Anton Antonowitsch Delwig , Ivan Pushchin , called Vanya and Pushkin , called Sascha, were accepted into the first year . At the opening of the school year on October 19, 1811, Willi, a new student at the high school, was visited by the Tsar , Empress Elisabeth and Grand Duke Constantine .
- Bechelkückeriade
Willi's long, stooped figure, the stuttering, the sudden anger and the deafness stimulate the pupils to joke. The "hulking Küchel" is not deterred, learns confidently and ambitiously. In December 1814, on the occasion of the transfer exam , Willi recited his verses to old Dershawin in the shadow of Pushkin.
In contrast to Willi, Pushkin always keeps track of things. When Willi accidentally hugs Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich because he thinks he is his uncle Pawel Petrovich Albrecht, the friend laughs and draws his attention to his mistake.
On June 8, 1817, the high school period ended. Willi - confused - hugs Pushkin goodbye.
- Petersburg
Küchelbecker is employed as a teacher for Russian literature in the recently opened noble boarding school at the Pedagogical Institute . Wilhelm brings up Pushkin's younger brother Lyova in the boarding school . Alexander Pushkin falls out with Wilhelm because he cannot share his friend's high opinion of Zhukovsky's work .
Küchelbecker met Kondrati Rylejew and Alexander Gribojedow in Nikolai Gretsch's house , where Faddei Bulgarin also frequented . Ryleev is the poet who called Arakscheev a villain in one of his poems . Gribojedow whispers to the landlord that Küchelbecker is this madman. Gretsch laughs in the affirmative, but adds, “crazy in a noble sense”. Wilhelm becomes friends with Griboyedov, but is surprised at the new friend: How can Griboyedov be friends with Bulgarin, this “common creature”?
School friend Delwig takes Wilhelm to Sofja Dmitrijewna Ponomarjowa's salon , where Ivan Krylow also frequented. Wilhelm hugs the astonished Sofja. The wife of Joakim Ivanovich Ponomarev does not take the awkward admirer seriously; make their bad jokes on him; stands dead in front of the shocked lover.
Pushkin irritates the tsar with his verses. When the poet circulated a painting by Louvel with the signature Lesson for Tsars among the theater audience in 1820, they had enough . The ruler had Pushkin banished to the south .
Küchelbecker no longer wants to teach in the boarding school. Pushchin takes Wilhelm to see Nikolai Turgenev . The latter said before about fifteen men: "The Russian peasants must be freed from their chains immediately throughout the empire ... The advantages of the republican government are indisputable." It is "dangerous to give up autocracy before serfdom is abolished." Turgenev wants to have a newspaper printed. Nothing will come of the plan.
When the Semyonov regiment rebelled, Ryleev went with Küchelbecker. After all, the hated regimental commander Colonel Schwarz will be replaced by the old General Bistrom.
Wilhelm's older sister Ustinja Karlowna marries Grigori Glinka, professor of Russian literature at Dorpat University . Glinka inherited an estate in the village of Sakup in Smolensk Governorate .
- Europe
Küchelbecher visits Ludwig Tieck in his Dresden study at the end of October 1820 . Tieck examines the visitor with an unsteady look. From Klopstock Wollin wants nothing to do "a cumbersome, unclean poet inflamed imagination. A dangerous poet. A skeptic. ”Also in Dresden, Wilhelm befriends the young Odojewski . In mid-November there was an encounter with Goethe in Weimar . Küchelbecker notes: “Goethe is of medium stature, his black eyes flash with fire and spirit… He speaks slowly. The voice is quiet and pleasant. ”Goethe is evidently pleased when the visitor can report on samples of his early poetry, which Zhukovsky translated into Russian.
Meanwhile, at home , Benckendorff reports to the Tsar about a secret society to which Küchelbecker belongs. The ruler is beside himself. The newbie is placed under secret supervision. Wilhelm spent the winter of 1821 in Paris as Secretary to Alexander Lvovich Naryschkins . When the secretary gave lectures on Russian and French literature in Paris, the Paris prefect expelled him from the country. Wilhelm reached his Petersburg via Dijon , Nice and Warsaw . The returnees often visit his brother, the naval lieutenant Mischa . Nikolai Turgenev helps find a job; switches on his superior, Prince Golitsyn. Golitsyn brings up the Küchelbecker case in an interview with Count Nesselrode . Nesselrode suggests to the emperor that the restless Küchelbecker be sent to a restless region. On September 19, 1821, Wilhelm went to the Caucasus with General Alexei Jermolow as chancellor .
- Caucasus
The arrival in Tbilisi in October 1821 brought a reunion with Griboyedov. The playwright discusses his comedy theory with the poet friend who has traveled . Griboyedov sees through a court intrigue. Diebitsch and Paskewitsch want to put him in the cold in Persia . The Tbilisi area is teeming with enemies. During one of his carefree rides without escort, Küchelbecker is attacked by a Chechen and can only save his bare life with great effort. Fortunately, Griboyedov looks for and finds his friend. Russians also bother the two friends. After a duel with Captain Jakubowitsch , Griboyedov suffers from a bullet through his arm. Amazingly, Jakubowitsch said in an interview with Küchelbecker a “healing procedure” for the Russian misery: “The only way out that I know is the complete extermination of the imperial family.” General Yermolov receives a top secret letter from the Tsar's circle. In it, Prince Wolkonski suggests using the hothead Küchelbecker on a life-threatening mission. The general diplomatically rejects the request.
The hot spur Küchelbecker insults the officer Pochwisnew. The fighting cocks duel and survive without a scratch. To his own amazement, General Jermolow wrote the choleric Küchelbecker a good final assessment.
- In the countryside
Wilhelm retires to his sister Ustinja on the above-mentioned Gut Sakup of the Glinka family in the Duchowschtschina district , writes and writes on a tragedy. Subject: Tyrannicide. He met Dunja on one of his rides. The pretty young girl is related to the Glinkas. After a week of acquaintance, the couple kiss and swear "eternal love". As in Paris and Tbilisi, the nobleman Küchelbecker also has to leave the tranquil Sakup after causing anger and displeasure once again. When a landlord from the neighborhood tarred and chastised one of his serfs, Wilhelm intervened.
- Sons of the fatherland
Küchelbecker goes to Moscow to see Dunja. Their mother and aunt very politely reject the dangerous young man with the strange appearance and bad reputation. Wilhelm also fails with his almanac. In 1824 he went back to Petersburg and fell into the clutches of Gretsch and Bulgarin; writes for the sons of the fatherland . While Gretsch - also thanks to Wilhelm's work - attained prosperity, the scribe was in poverty; has to take quarters with his brother Mischa in the barracks. Gretsch cooperates secretly with Maxim Jakowlewitsch von Fock, a department head of the Tsar's secret police. At that time Wilhelm was distracted by two poet colleagues - Kondrati Rylejew and Sascha Odojewski . Wilhelm does not want to accept any money from the wealthy Sascha. The friends Sascha Odojewski, Pushchin and Delwig manage to administer the financial injection with a fun trick.
Wilhelm meets Captain Jakubowitsch again in his St. Petersburg apartment. Sascha Odojewski, Rylejew, Alexander Bestuschew and Dmitri Shchepin-Rostovsky are also present . In the fall of 1825, Ryleev wanted to involve Wilhelm in the conspiratorial work.
- December
His Imperial Majesty Alexander I died in Taganrog on November 19, 1825 . Ryleev wants to take the opportunity and calls on Bestushev to inspect the troops that are ready to rebel. Prince Trubetskoi is elected dictator. The leadership of the uprising meets in Ryleev's apartment. Küchelbecker is accepted into the secret society by Rylejew and learns that his brother Misha has long been a member. Wilhelm goes to his brother on behalf of Ryleev. Misha is currently negotiating with Dorofejew and Kuroptew. These are representatives of the sailors who are prepared to revolt. Wilhelm did the same to Ryleev and the Bestuschew brothers - at night in preparation for the rebellion in Petersburg, he addressed soldiers on the street.
On the night of December 14, 1825, the election fell on Pyotr Kachowski . The officer is supposed to shoot Nicholas during the survey . Trubezkoi, on the other hand, would like to wait because he fears the enemy artillery. Ryleev justifies his decision: “We are doomed to die. We have to take action. Did you forget we were betrayed? The court already knows a lot, but not everything and we are strong enough. "
- The Peter Square
During the parade on December 14, 1825 on St. Peter's Square, insurgent troops refused to swear allegiance to the new Tsar Nicholas. The latter appears without a retinue and sends Miloradowitsch into battle. The governor general of the capital uses cavalry against the mutineers. General Toll wants to call in artillery. The new emperor hesitates. Civilians throw stones at him. Bullets whistle over him. Küchelbecker wants to shoot the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich whom he accidentally hugged at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Three attempts remain unsuccessful. The powder in the pistol had previously gotten wet after a rapid carriage ride that had ended in a pile of snow in Petersburg. Governor General Miloradovich falls. In view of the approaching dusk, General Toll presses the new tsar by issuing the long overdue artillery deployment order. Nikolaus orders a last attempt at mediation. When the daylight fades in the afternoon, the Imperial Artillery mows down the rebels.
The dictator Trubetskoy was absent from Peter Square on December 14th.
Küchelbecker and Kachowski walk part of their way home together.
- Escape
The mutineers Küchelbecker and Kachowski are wanted by the police in Petersburg. Wilhelm flees in a westerly direction. The wanted man reached Warsaw via the Sakuper area and Vilna on January 19, 1826 and was arrested in the metropolis of the Vistula .
- fortress
Bound hand and foot by running Kuchelbecker prisons Peter and Paul Fortress , Fortress Shlisselburg , Fortress Daugavpils , Fortress Reval and Sveaborg .
Wilhelm's mother Ustinja Jakowlewna and Wilhelm's bride Dunja penetrate as far as Paul I's widow and the tsar , respectively . Unsuccessful pleading - the answer in both audiences is merely regret for such a son or bridegroom. Wilhelm's sister Ustinja also came home from Petersburg to Sakup without any results.
- The end
Freed from chains for the rest of his life, Wilhelm was allowed to live freely in suburban settlements in Siberia . He moves to Barguzin , Aksha , Kurgan and Tobolsk . In 1837 Wilhelm married Drossida Ivanovna, known as Dronyushka, the daughter of postmaster Ivan Artenow in Barguzin. Children have children from marriage. On March 14, 1846, Wilhelm and his family reached Kurgan and met Pushchin there. Wilhelm had not touched the box with the unpublished manuscripts for a long time when he said goodbye to Dronyushka on August 23, 1846. The dying man, anxious to take care of his children, urges his wife to sell the manuscripts in Petersburg.
Self-testimony
- "I respect the rough, unfinished unlucky fellows, the stumblers, ... in which history is clumsily layered and who are therefore violent when overturned."
reception
- Russian utterances
- Around 1927 Gorky praised Tynyanov's "excellent, masterful novel" and wrote to Vsevolod Ivanov : "Very important books are being written, completely unexpected ones, such as Tynyanov's 'Küchelbecker, Poet and Rebel'."
- Kornej Tschukowski remembers how Tynyanov described the framework of his Küchelbecker novel, that is, the poet's relations to Pushkin, Ryleev, Griboyedov and Pushchin , on a walk on Nevsky Prospect , and adds: “He [Tynyanow] hardly needed it still to make inquiries in archives, since he had everything in his head. "
- The OPOJAS colleague B. Eichenbaum was surprised in 1925 when the proven literary theorist colleague Tynjanow suddenly appeared before the public with a prose work.
- W. Basanow: “For a long time, the poet Küchelbecker was known to literary historians only as a comical, bizarre figure. It was not until the works of J. Tynjanow that Küchelbecker reinstated his civil rights and showed the extraordinary ideological and artistic significance of his poetry. "
- German statements
- In 1975 Mierau notes: "Tynjanow tells the life of Küchelbecker as a sudden change from the comic Buffo to the pathetic and tragic ...".
- In the Fortress chapter , Tynyanov tells of Küchelbecker's last meeting with his childhood friend Pushkin on October 14, 1827 at Salasy station. The "state criminal" Küchelbecker is transferred from the Schluesselburg fortress to the Dünaburg fortress. Since Küchelbecker sometimes hallucinated in the solitary confinement of the former fortress - spoke to friends who were not present - the more sober reader must accept an imaginary encounter. Vladimir Levin teaches us better in 1977: Tynyanov certainly knew about false truths in historical documents. But the stories told are true. So did the last chance meeting of the two poet friends.
literature
Used edition
Juri Tynjanow: Wilhelm Küchelbecker, poet and rebel. A historical novel. Translated from the Russian by Maria Einstein. With an afterword by Vladimir Levin . 400 pages. Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin 1977 (2nd edition, editor: Ilse Tschörtner)
Secondary literature
- Fritz Mierau (Ed.): Juri Tynjanow: The monkey and the bell. Stories. Drama. Essays. 624 pages. Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin 1975 (1st edition)
Web links
- The text online in Lib.ru (Russian)
- Reference in the laboratory of fantasy (Russian)
Remarks
- ↑ The Klopstock admirer Wilhelm Küchelbecker called some of his poems Klopstockverse (Mierau, p. 573, 14th Zvu).
- ↑ In addition to the aforementioned Alexander Bestuschew, Michail Bestuschew is also meant.
- ↑ The traitor is said to have been Jakow Ivanovich Rostovzew (Russian Яков Иванович Ростовцев ).
- ↑ Peter-Platz = the later Senate Square = the square in front of the Senate and Synod .
- ↑ Miloradowitsch was shot by Kachowski.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mierau: The laws of fame. Literary evolution in Juri Tynjanow p. 572, 8. Zvu
- ↑ Edition used, p. 320, 4th Zvu
- ↑ Russian Tatishchev, Alexander Iwanowitsch
- ↑ Edition used, p. 290, 14. Zvo
- ^ In German: Justina Elisabeth von Lohmann (1757–1841), a German-Baltic woman from Segewold
- ↑ Edition used, p. 123, 18. Zvo
- ↑ Russian Pushkin, Lev Sergejewitsch (1805-1852)
- ↑ Edition used, p. 57, 7th Zvu
- ↑ Edition used, p. 59, 15. Zvo
- ↑ Russian Ponomarjowa, Sofja Dmitrijewna
- ↑ Edition used, pp. 73, 20. Zvo to p. 74.3. Zvo
- ↑ in German: Justina Küchelbecker (1786–1871)
- ↑ Russian Glinka, Grigori Andrejewitsch
- ↑ Russian Sakup
- ↑ Edition used, p. 91, 4th Zvu
- ↑ Edition used, p. 95, 2. Zvo
- ↑ Russian Naryschkin, Alexander Lwowitsch
- ↑ Russian Golitsyn, Alexander Nikolajewitsch
- ↑ Edition used, p. 150, 12. Zvu
- ↑ Russian official
- ↑ Russian Николай Николаевич Похвиснев - Nikolai Nikolajewitsch Pochwisnew
- ↑ Edition used, p. 184, 7th Zvu
- ↑ Russian Fock, Maxim Jakowlewitsch von
- ↑ Russian. The third division - the Tsar's secret police
- ↑ Russian Дорофеев и Куроптев
- ↑ Edition used, p. 241, 13. Zvo
- ↑ Edition used, p. 272, 4th Zvo
- ↑ Juri Tynjanow: As I write , in Mierau (ed.), P. 116, 13. Zvo
- ^ Gorki, quoted by Lewin in the afterword of the edition used, p. 362, 8. Zvo
- ↑ Tschukowski, quoted by Lewin in the afterword of the edition used, p. 363, 7th Zvu
- ^ Eichenbaum, quoted by Lewin in the afterword of the edition used, p. 363, 12. Zvo
- ↑ Russian Basanow, Wassili Grigorjewitsch
- ^ W. Basanow, quoted by Lewin in the afterword of the edition used, p. 361, 22. Zvo
- ↑ Mierau, p. 573, 4th Zvo
- ↑ Russian Salasy - hole, bear angle
- ^ Lewin in the afterword of the edition used, pp. 376,14. Zvu