Book: Gogol's Taras Bulba

Anybody interested in the history of Zaphorizian Cossacks should read the Novella Taras Bulba...historical fiction that places you in the world of the freewheeling Cossacks, and their conflicts with Tatars and Polish nobleman...

Quite a film, too. Incredibly, they were showing it on Qatar Airlines a year or so ago in the world section.

Taras Bulba is a Polonophobic novella, but interestingly enough despite being written by a "Little Russian" its Polonophobia, although having traditionally Russian aspects, such as portraying the Poles as gaudily bedecked aesthetes, it also has a theme more often associated with Prussian Polonophobia, and that is the fear that the beauty of Polish women can make the enemies of Poland betray their comrades as is done by one of Taras' sons in the novella.

A great book - Gogol was a wonderful writer who captured the spirit of that time and place.The American film of that name is fun too.Interesting to compare him with Tolstoy - there are similarities in their approach to rural life, but their perspectives on Poland are interestingly different. One or two of Lermontov's poems remind me of that - especially one set to music by my fellow Warsaw resident, Glinka.

Lol, Dessi...."Polonophobic"....hahahahahaha.....its about Polands grasping Empire building and attempts to enslave non Poles....FFS damn right its going to be a touch anti Polish....thats like complaining that a book written by one of your Pally friends is anti Israeli .......or that the movie Ghandi was a bit beastly to the British :)

Alltogether now;
We are the cossaks
they are the cossaks
we are the cossaks
blah blah blah
Tony Curtis as a Cossak,lmfao......

It's one of the greatest Russian writers who ranges with Pushkin, Dostoevskiy, Tolstoy and some others. To label his work "Polonophobic" would be too shallow. However for some it doesn't bear any other content but Polonophobia.

Btw I believe TB is not the best thing the master have created.

Ukrainian

I would argue that the idea of "Polonophobia" actually hurts Poland more than it helps Poland.


What's even more interesting is that you keep on using right-wing buzzwords when describing things. Strange.

If you mean ethnicity then yes, but if you mean nationality i.e. cultural affiliation then it was rather Russian.

I didn't know Tony Curtis was Ukrainian!

What a bull istau2 ! BS and propaganda !

Given that you yourself are a Polonophobe, delphiandomine, it's not surprizing that you do not like people labelling your mental illness specifically.


I do not dispute Gogol's greatness. He was the funniest of all of the great Russian writers until the advent of Bulgakov, but Taras Bulba is a Polonophibic novella nonetheless and admitting this doesn't make anyone shallow.


Yes, of course, but the sad thing about Gogol is that while he denigrates Polish hegemony over his native Ukraine he embraces Russian dominance.

Well, maybe not polonophbic per se but written in accord with the Russian Empire tune - all our enemies were bad, only our Saintly Russia is right and immortal !

I wonder why none of those great artist didn't atempt to write book set roughly at the same time Taras's narration is set but about Russia.

Great material to study conditions of the human soul when top Russian "nobles" were ordered by czar to hop about like monkeys with naked butts !

That tune maybe familiar to many posters here from other Empires attempting to educate Poles in a way of civilised human being ie marching in order and/or hop about like monkey with naked butt/

Thank you - no!

'Second grade freshness' (The Master and Margarita) is for me to this day the funniest phrase I encountered in literature. Always makes me smile.
Smile :)

Hear hear! Poles and Polonians want nothing to do with imperialists' craven bootlicking notions of "civilization".

" Given that you yourself are a Polonophobe, delphiandomine, it's not surprizing that you do not like people labelling your mental illness specifically."

I'd like to comment on this, but before I do could a mod please confirm that it is on topic? I'd hate to be threatened with a ban for going off topic (obviously the accusation of mental illness is entirely acceptable here).

I've never heard "Polonophobia" being called a mental illness before. Certainly - the seeing of polonophobia everywhere is a mental illness and easily treated with a visit to Poland.

Careful Delph, we've had no confirmation that what Dessie speaks of is on topic and thus can be discussed here in this thread. Remember that going off topic is far worse than posting homophobic abuse.

Stop self-pity Harry , you are a professional off-topic poster !

Isn't that an approach of any empire?




Gde? :)

Have you even seen a film version of this story????/
Poland had invaded Ukraine,had turned Ukraine into a little poland and had subjegated the ukrainians.....whats that then?

nope, nope, and nope three times wrong - go and stand in the corner bad boy!


is it that picture a day after.... ?
:)

No, I've read the novella.


That is dramatic license taken by the filmakers and not the true history. The Ukraine was conquered by the Lithuanians and given over to Polish administration after the Poland and Lithuania became allies.

Wrong. It's "Ukraine", not "The Ukraine". "The Ukraine" is an offensive, outdated term with colonial implications.

Yes, it was a colony.

Yes. Much like The Philippines, The Riviera, and The Bronx – colonies all.

Named after King Phillip of Spain....so,wrong choice ;)

Oops! You're right. The Phillipines were/was definitely a colony. The Bronx was also occupied by white settlers in the 1700s at the expense of the native-american inhabitants of the Bronx. (One can only imagine what their accent must have sounded like). But seriously, when people say "The Ukraine" they refer to what was a region of Russia until very recently. Is that colonialist? Was it ever an independent country before that?

Yehudi....its one of those things like...."can you say Black now or is it still African American ?"...... Ukranian doesnt have a "the" (afaik,i know russian doesnt ;) ) so Ukranians call it Ukraine,everyone else still calls it The Ukraine apart from a few poncey tw@ts,you know the type,the ones that insist on saying Paree instead of Paris or Warsawa instead of Warsaw :)

I am unable to see why the inclusion of the article "the" before "Ukraine" is offensive in any way, but regarding the subject of shedding "the's" from countries' names-- I remember having seen a photo of the actress Vanessa Redgrave sitting behind a table whose front was festooned with a banner having the exact wordage of the following journal article's title:

tedgrant.org/archive/grant/1958/07/lebanon.htm

and so perhaps this is presages the success of those advocating removing the definite article from the Ukraine.