Tightrope Walking: A Memoir by Josephine Pasternak by Pasternak Ramsay , Rimgaila Helen , Rimgaila Salys (review)

Abstract

340 SEER, 87, 2, APRIL 200g unhappymarriage, arguesthatSokhanskaiahas createdan 'almostentirely matriarchal worldin whichmen playlittlepart' (p. 64). He thusfindsthe storyto be more about 'narrative death and resurrection' than about an unhappymarriage(p. 65). Unexpectedly we findthatoutsidespace, rather thanthetypical domainofindoors, is thearenawheretheheroinefinds her identity. Andrewsuggests thatbothSokhanskaia and Khvoshchinskaia foreshadowwhatbecomesa centralmotif of twentieth-century feminist fiction: 'friendship amongwomen'(p. 77). (Khvoshchinskaia' s novel,however,also takeson thedarkthemeofwomenpolicing each other[pp. 103-09]whichis likewisepresentin the threestoriesof Dostoevskii's which he discusses.) Although I foundthisnotionoftheemphasis on femalefriendship as a dominantthemecompelling , itseemsto me thatthisidea aboundsin nineteenthcentury literature generally - whether amongAusten's heroines orevenwith AnnaKarenina,whois inpartdriven tohersuicidebecauseofherexclusion from theworldofwomen. Andrew's analysis of'FamilyHappiness'uncovers a crucialgenericswitch betweenpartsone and twofromthepastoraleto thesocietytale; hisfinal chapteron Chekhov's'The Fiancée' exploresthewaysin whichChekhov, evenas he deliberately returns tothestyle and evocation ofan earlier period, is also in dialoguewithTolstoi'sstory.I foundespeciallyfascinating the lastsection,'Chekhov'sTestament'.Here Andrewexploreshow thisstory, Chekhov's last,isbotha retrospective and a capstone.'Mostofthecharacters couldbe saidto comefrom theChekhov"repertory company'"(p. 177), and he concludes, 'Butthis,hislast,testamental workdoes,at least,seemto call on Russiatoawake,likehislastshort story heroine, whosefullnameis never usedinthestory, butis,ofcourse[.. .] Hope' (p. 179).As notedearlier, atthis pointthereaderflips thepage,eagerfora conclusion tohighlight theinsights culledalong theway. But it is herethatthisinteresting, well argued,and convincing volumecomesto itsend. Department ofGerman, Russian RobinFeuer Miller andAsian Languages andLiterature Brandeis University, Massachusetts PasternakRamsay,Helen and Salys,Rimgaila (eds). Tightrope Walking: A Memoir by Josephine Pasternak. Slavica,Bloomington, IN, 2005. xv + 296 pp. Illustrations. Chronology.Notes. Bibliography.Index. $24.95 (paperback). Memoirspresent us witha doubleinterest: we wishto learnmoreabout a particular lifeorlives, butwe alsoreadthememoir as a workofartinitsown right. Josephine Pasternak's Tightrope Walking belongstoa particular sub-genre of memoirs, depicting the livesof notablepersonsthrough the eyes of a closerelative. Withsuchmemoirs thenarrator himself orherself can become invisible, withdrawn to a background, made onlyto illuminate greatlives. Pasternak's memoirdefinitely does not followsuch constraints. Poet and philosopher Josephine Pasternak writes a detailedexploration ofherownlife, REVIEWS 34I and evenmoreso ofherown emotionaland mentalworld.The book was intended to concentrate on herlife,yetto also makeprominent thebiographiesoffamily members, Nobel Prizelaureatepoet and prosewriter Boris Pasternak (Josephine's brother), landscapeandportrait artist LeonidPasternak (herfather), and pianistRosalia KaufmanPasternak (hermother). Josephine Pasternak'smemoir,writtenin English, spans from her childhoodin pre-Revolutionary Russia, through the Revolution,to lifein emigration in Germany, and endsat thepointofherarriving at theage of twenty-seven. The memoiris constructed aroundthe 'threecentralsunsin (her)family [herfather, mother and brother Boris]and thethreesatellites, or secondary bodies- Shura[hereldestbrother] , Lydia[hersister] ' and herself (p. 60). Indeed, much of the book is devotedto the personaland artistic development ofthese'threesuns',especially Borisand Leonid.She mentions Boris'svariousyouthful infatuations and discusseshis turbulent relationship withhisfirst wife.But she also stresses theaffinity ofartistic sensibility she and Borisfelt. Josephine discusses Leonid'sartand claimsthat'hisflights of inspiration werenotlessboldthanthoseofhisson' (p. 212),butshealso gives an accountoftheinternal conflict thefather alwaysfelt betweenhiscommitmenttohisfamily and hisvocation.It seemsthat Josephine isconcerned with pureart,and sees anything lessthanabsolutededicationas a lossofartistic potential. As to Rosalia,Josephine talksoftheeffect ofhermother's playing on herearliest impressions, noting an affinity toMarinaTsvetaeva,forwhom hermother and musicwerealso formative influences. By virtueofbeingclose to herbrother Boris, Josephinehad been introducedto a number ofpoetsand writers oftheperiod.She describes in detail a visitwithBoris to Lilia and Osip Brik,when she was exhilaratedby themutualaffection betweenPasternak and Maiakovskii. Regardlessofthe difference in poetictemperament betweenthem,she ascertains, theyunderstoodand admiredeach other's work.Atthesameevening Josephine recalls a curiousscenewhenBoriskissedherin an eroticmanner.Significantly, she says thatwhile she feltno eroticresponse,insteadof being shockedshe believedthat'to remaincold in answerto hispassionateappeal - [was] a desecration' (p. 93). It seemsthatforherpassionis relatedto artand both are,forher,highest ideals.Conventions matter less,surprisingly fora young womanwhogrewup in a strict Victorian-style household. In spiteoftheprofessed emphasison 'thesuns'in herfamily, Josephine devoteslargepartsof her memoirto her own psychological and religious turmoil, and also refers to a numberofmentalbreakdowns laterin life.She describes in detailreligious and sexualpassionsand compulsions shehad felt from an earlyage. Her approachis psychoanalytical and she seeksmeaning in the Freudianset of images.How much of thisinterpretation is a true reflection ofJosephine's mentalstateand how muchofher experienceshe constructs mentally becauseoftheintellectual influence ofpsychoanalysis on herviewsis hardto tell. A curiouscollision is seenagainand againinthememoir, whenJosephine on theone hand professes deep attachment to herfamily and on theother hand confessesto feelingtrappedin the familycircle.When she finally decidedtomovetoBerlintostudy shefeelsthehappiness offreedom butalso 342 SEER, 87, 2, APRIL 200g excruciating nostalgia...