1
/
of
1
Leila's Books
Four Translations of: THE RED FLOWER
Four Translations of: THE RED FLOWER
Regular price
$1.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$1.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
Scanned, proofed and corrected from the original edition for your reading pleasure.It is also searchable and contains hyper-links to chapters.
***
Vsevolod Garshin's most characteristic story may very well be "The Red Flower". It continues the series of lunatic-asylum stories in Russian literature which include stories like Gogol's "Diary of a Madman" (1835), Leskov's Hare Remise (1894) and Chekhov's Ward No. 6).
"The Red Flower" is a history of a madman who is obsessed by the desire to challenge and defeat the evil of the world. He discovers that all evil is contained in three poppies growing in the middle of the hospital garden, and with infinite astuteness and cunning he succeeds in defeating the vigilance of his warders and picking the flowers. He dies from nervous exhaustion, but dies happy and certain of having attained his end. The oppressive atmosphere of the asylum is conveyed with effective skill. The end is a relief, like death to a martyr, but it is also ironical.
This story is considered to be Grashin's masterpiece. This ebook edition contains four different translations of the story.
***
Translation #1
THE SCARLET FLOWER (Translation by E. L. Voynich)
IN the name of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Peter I., I declare this lunatic asylum open to inspection.'
These words were uttered in a loud resonant voice. The asylum clerk, who was entering the patient's name in a large ragged book on an inky table, could not refrain from smiling. But the two young men in charge of the patient did not smile; they could hardly stand on their feet, so exhausted were they after two days and nights spent without sleep, alone with the madman, whom they had just brought by train.
***
Translation #2
THE SCARLET BLOSSOM (Translated by Rowland Smith)
"IN the name of His Imperial Majesty the Lord Emperor Peter the First, I order a revision of this Asylum!"
These words were uttered in a loud, strident, resounding voice. The clerk who had registered the patient in a large dilapidated book lying on an ink-bespattered table could not restrain a smile. But the two young men who had escorted the patient did not smile. They could scarcely keep on their feet after forty-eight hours without sleep, passed alone with the lunatic whom they had just brought along by train.
***
Translation #3
The Red Flower, a story (Translation supplied by Brown Brothers)
"In the name of His Imperial Highness, Emperor Peter the First, I have come to make an inspection of this insane asylum!"
These words were spoken in a loud, shrill, ringing voice. The secretary of the asylum, entering the name of the new inmate in a large, much-worn book which lay on an ink-soiled table, could not resist a smile. But the two young men who brought the patient felt little inclination to laugh. They could hardly stand upon their legs after having passed
forty-eight hours without sleep, alone with the madman, whom they accompanied on the train.
***
Translation #4
The Red Flower of the Madman (Cosmopolitan Magazine)
"IN the name of his majesty, the Czar, Peter the First, I order an immediate inspection of this asylum for the insane!"
These words were uttered in a shrill, sharp voice. The secretary of the establishment seated before a table stained with blotches of ink, and about to inscribe in an enormous register the name, age, etc., of the new patient, could not restrain a smile. As to the two young men that accompanied the madman, they did not feel much like laughing; they were hardly in a condition to keep on their legs, owing to the two nights they had passed on the railroad with the patient.
***
Vsevolod Garshin's most characteristic story may very well be "The Red Flower". It continues the series of lunatic-asylum stories in Russian literature which include stories like Gogol's "Diary of a Madman" (1835), Leskov's Hare Remise (1894) and Chekhov's Ward No. 6).
"The Red Flower" is a history of a madman who is obsessed by the desire to challenge and defeat the evil of the world. He discovers that all evil is contained in three poppies growing in the middle of the hospital garden, and with infinite astuteness and cunning he succeeds in defeating the vigilance of his warders and picking the flowers. He dies from nervous exhaustion, but dies happy and certain of having attained his end. The oppressive atmosphere of the asylum is conveyed with effective skill. The end is a relief, like death to a martyr, but it is also ironical.
This story is considered to be Grashin's masterpiece. This ebook edition contains four different translations of the story.
***
Translation #1
THE SCARLET FLOWER (Translation by E. L. Voynich)
IN the name of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Peter I., I declare this lunatic asylum open to inspection.'
These words were uttered in a loud resonant voice. The asylum clerk, who was entering the patient's name in a large ragged book on an inky table, could not refrain from smiling. But the two young men in charge of the patient did not smile; they could hardly stand on their feet, so exhausted were they after two days and nights spent without sleep, alone with the madman, whom they had just brought by train.
***
Translation #2
THE SCARLET BLOSSOM (Translated by Rowland Smith)
"IN the name of His Imperial Majesty the Lord Emperor Peter the First, I order a revision of this Asylum!"
These words were uttered in a loud, strident, resounding voice. The clerk who had registered the patient in a large dilapidated book lying on an ink-bespattered table could not restrain a smile. But the two young men who had escorted the patient did not smile. They could scarcely keep on their feet after forty-eight hours without sleep, passed alone with the lunatic whom they had just brought along by train.
***
Translation #3
The Red Flower, a story (Translation supplied by Brown Brothers)
"In the name of His Imperial Highness, Emperor Peter the First, I have come to make an inspection of this insane asylum!"
These words were spoken in a loud, shrill, ringing voice. The secretary of the asylum, entering the name of the new inmate in a large, much-worn book which lay on an ink-soiled table, could not resist a smile. But the two young men who brought the patient felt little inclination to laugh. They could hardly stand upon their legs after having passed
forty-eight hours without sleep, alone with the madman, whom they accompanied on the train.
***
Translation #4
The Red Flower of the Madman (Cosmopolitan Magazine)
"IN the name of his majesty, the Czar, Peter the First, I order an immediate inspection of this asylum for the insane!"
These words were uttered in a shrill, sharp voice. The secretary of the establishment seated before a table stained with blotches of ink, and about to inscribe in an enormous register the name, age, etc., of the new patient, could not restrain a smile. As to the two young men that accompanied the madman, they did not feel much like laughing; they were hardly in a condition to keep on their legs, owing to the two nights they had passed on the railroad with the patient.
Share
