Pushkin was the famous author of Eugene Onegin in which there is a clear depiction of Natalya as 'Tatyana.' According to gossip Natalya was having an affair with a dashing Frenchman, Baron Georges d'Anthès whom the Pushkins had met in 1834. D'Anthès was to marry Natalya's sister.
In 1836 Pushkin received a poison pen letter electing him to 'The Serene Order of Cuckolds.' Whether or not the charge was baseless, Pushkin decided to play out the script of Eugene Onegin where the hero is provoked into a duel over Tatyana.
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| The monument on Pushkin's duel place, Saint-Petersburg |
Photo by Vladimir Ivanov
The duel between Pushkin and d'Anthès took place on 27 January 1837. D'Anthès fired and wounded Puskin; Pushkin merely winged his opponent. Pushkin was fatally hurt and died eventually on this day in 1837.
Notes:
- The Times records Pushkin's death on 10 February 1837 in its 'On This Day' column of The Register.
- Love, Sex, Death & Words, surprising tales from a year in literature - 10 February- 'The king of cuckolds dies.' Authors John Sutherland & Stephen Fender. Icon Books
4 comments:
Poor Pushkin.
I kind of feel for poor Pushkin, although he wasn't thinking clearly in most of his big decisions. Natalya or Tatyana...a bit of poison herself maybe...sounds like a mysterious woman he should have ignored, maybe?!!! Great story....
The idea of a serene order of Cuckolds is pretty amusing. Duels, not so much. I'm glad we don't do that anymore (or at least not so often.)
How ridiculous!
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