The High Stakes of Identity: Gambling in the Life and Literature of Nineteenth-Century Russia
Russian life and literature of the nineteenth century abounded with scenes of gambling--nowhere more prominently than in the lives and work of three of Russia's greatest writers: Pushkin, Tolstoi, and Dostoevskii. Focusing on the intersection of gambling performances in society and in literature, this book reveals the significance of gambling as an index of character in nineteenth-century Russia and traces its role in the fate of the gentry over the course of the century.\ During the reigns...
Search in google:
A comprehensive look at the meaning, myth, and practice of gambling in nineteenth-century Russian culture.Monika GreenleafThis book stands out for the intrinsic fascination of its subject [and] the new portrait it creates of Russian society...
AcknowledgmentsixA Note on Translation and TransliterationxiIntroductionxiiiChapter 1The Memoiristic Moorings of Gentry Gambling Mythologies3Chapter 2Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy ("the American") and the Cardsharp as Provocateur31Chapter 3Pushkin's Ironic Performances as a Gambler and His Relationship with I. E. Velikopol'sky, Author of A Satire on Gamblers48Chapter 4The Dishonorable Acts of Lermontov's Masquerade67Chapter 5Shakhovskoy's Moneymadness and the Rewriting of "The Queen of Spades"85Chapter 6Begichev's The Kholmsky Family and the Didactic Portrayal of Gambling Addiction97Afterword: Social and Literary Disruptions of Gambling Mythologies and Dostoevsky's Critique of the Bean Joueur115AppendixThe Original Texts131Notes157Bibliography193Index205
\ From the Publisher"Helfant's book belongs in the group of first-rate cultural studies which have redefined the Russian nineteenth century in the past two decades. It bridges literary criticism, social theory, social history, myth analysis, and identity studies; and it reunites high art and ideas with economics and social practices." --Monika Greenleaf, Stanford University\ \ \ \ \ \ Monika GreenleafThis book stands out for the intrinsic fascination of its subject [and] the new portrait it creates of Russian society...\ \ \ BooknewsRevising his doctoral dissertation for Harvard University, Helfant (Russian, Colgate U.) explains how Russian writers of the 19th century not only used gambling as motifs in their work, but were often impacted by it in their own lives; for example Pushkin's huge losses at cards and Dostoevski's at roulette served as impetus for them to write for money, but Tolstoy's ancestral wealth cushioned his losses at cards. In addition to those three, he looks at works by Lermontov, Shakhovskoy, and Begichev. He appends the original texts of all the extended and most of the shorter quotes that are translated from Russian and French in the book. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
