Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Impressions of Russian Literature - II
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
Brigadier-General,” is greatly influenced by Holberg, especially
by “Jean de France.” The General’s son Ivan (that is,
Jean), who has been educated in a boarding-house of a
French coachman, has returned from his journey to
Paris with the “Francomania.” How great the resemblance
is between this figure and the Hans Frandsen of
Holberg, a brief extract will make plain.
The General: “Listen, Ivan, I have seldom blushed
since I got out of leading-strings; but to-day, in spite of
my gray hair, I was so ashamed of you that my cheeks
burned.”
Ivan: “Mon cher père! Can it be agreeable to me to
be told that I must marry a Russian girl?”
The General: “Are you a Frenchman, then? I
thought you were born in Russia.”
Iván: “My body was born in Russia; that is true.
But my spirit belongs to the French crown.”
The General: “Then you owe Russia more than
France, for there is more coherence in your body than
there is in your spirit.”
Iván: “See here, papa, now you are beginning to say
civil things to me, since you understand that you cannot
make any progress by severity.”
The General: “You are a regular fool! I have called
you a blockhead, and you think that I am paying you
compliments. What an ass!”
Iván: “Ass! Il ne me flatte pas. — I repeat to you,
papa, je vous le répète, that my ears are not accustomed
to such expressions.”
It is no slight honor for Denmark that the man who
laid the foundation of our national literature and
created the Danish stage has also been instrumental
in the foundation of the Russian theatre. He died
without seeing anything of this; he certainly never
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
