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It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves

It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves (Russian: Свои люди - сочтемся, Romanized as Svoi lyudi - sotchtemsya) is a comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky. It was his first major work, written in 1849 and published in the No.6 (March, book 2) 1850 Moskvityanin issue. Having caused a furore, it was banned by the Imperial Theatres' censorship committee and was staged for the first time on 9 December 1860, ten years after its publication. For some time the play has been also referred to as The Bankrupt, which was its original title.[1]

It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves
Written byAleksander Ostrovsky
Date premiered9 December 1860 (1860-12-09)
Place premieredMaly Theatre in Moscow
Original languageRussian
GenreComedy

Background Edit

After his attempt to write a play called The Legal Request (Исковое прошение) failed Ostrovsky started working upon another storyline, again stemming from his experience in the Moscow commercial court. Uncertain in his own potential, he invited a friend, Tertiy Filippov, to become a co-author, but the latter refused. Then Dmitry Gorev (real surname Tarasenko) emerged, the son of a merchant who lived not far from the Ostrovskys' (and later turned bankrupt), who published a drama called Tzar the Liberator or the Poor Orphan in 1843. It was Gorev who suggested that they should work upon the play together. Several scenes of Act 1 finished, Gorev suddenly left Moscow and has not been seen there until 1853 when he re-emerged to accuse Ostrovsky of "stealing" the text he, Gorev, had been the co-author of.[2]

History Edit

 
Konstantin Rybakov (Bolshov) and Mikhail Sadovsky (Podkhalyuzin) in the 1892 production

Ostrovsky was working on The Bankrupt all through 1847 and 1848. By the end of 1849 it has been finished. Ostrovsky's first audience was his University friend Alexey Pisemsky. He also met the now famous actor Prov Sadovsky who, much impressed, started to recite the play to his literary friends in Moscow.[1] In the summer Ostrovsky read the play at Mikhail Katkov's in Merzlyakovsky Lane where another Moscow University professor, I.V.Belyaev was also present. Both Ostrovsky and Sadovsky started to receive invitations to the houses of Moscow cultural elite (Nikolai and Karolina Pavlovs, Alexander Veltman, professors Stepan Shevyryov and Mikhail Pogodin, at Meshchersky's and Sheremetyev's, even in the astronomer Alexander Drashusov's observatory[3] where they became frequent guests since the autumn of 1849. Ivan Goncharov, who was in Moscow on his way from Saint Petersburg to Simbirsk, has heard the Bankrupt, liked it a lot and advised Ostrovsky to send the play to Krayevsky's Otechestvennye Zapiski. The author decided against it, still hoping to get the censorship permission first.[4]

In November 1849 Sadovsky read the play at the house of Countess Rostopchina who called it "our Russian Tartuffe" and expressed her delight with being the witness to "the birth of our own theatre literature."[5] Rostopchina's opinion impressed Pogodin and he asked Nikolai Berg to invite Ostrovsky to his home. On December 3 Ostrovsky read the play to the audience which included Veltman, Lev Mei, the actor Shchepkin and, notably, Nikolai Gogol. The success was immense although at least one of the guests, Veltman, expressed his reservations, complaining about the duration of the event.[6][7][8][9][10]

The play was published in the March (No. 6) issue of Moskvityanin under the new title It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves and made Ostrovsky famous in Moscow.[11] "The Bankrupt caused furor in the city," Moskvityanin editor-in-chief Mikhail Pogodin wrote in a diary on March 20, four days after the No.6 issue of the magazine came out. Governor Zakrevsky himself supported the play's theatrical production. Then the situation changed.

The success of the play which satirized the uncultured, self-satisfied merchant class outraged some influential people and the reports "started to fly to Petersburg," as the actor (and later Ostrovsky's publisher) Modest Pisarev attested. The Theatre and Literature censorial committee banned the play, condemning its negativism, pessimism and the lack of "positive examples," even if admitting that it contained nothing that would abuse the censorial rules directly. Nikolai I, having signed this document, left upon it a hand-written enquiry: "Who is this Ostrovsky, the author of the Family Affair?" One of his aides, Count Orlov, forwarded this request to the 3rd Department's Moscow office and the city's secret police put the man who was still working in the court under surveillance.[2]

In a letter to the Minister of Education Ostrovsky admitted the play might have been flawed, but added: "Comedy, as far as my principles are concerned, is the best genre in terms of achieving high moral goals, I see it as the best way for me to reproduce real life and so I felt I had to write - either a comedy or nothing. I am convinced that God gives one talent to some purpose and this involves certain responsibilities... For the time will come when every one of us will have to answer this question: 'What have I done with the talent I've been given?'"[2] Countess Rostopchina passed this text to Gogol. "I find his answer most sensible. God help him in his future work and let all doubts be dispelled as to the goodness of his intentions," the later wrote back.[2]

Rather frightened by the official reaction, Ostrovsky visited Zakrevsky. "This only gives you more honour," the Governor reassured the young author, meaning apparently that the Moscovites admired those of their intellectuals who fell out of favour with the authorities in Saint Petersburg. Very soon Ostrovsky discovered he was indeed becoming highly popular with the Moscow cultural elite. On 9 May 1850 he was invited to Gogol's birthday party.[2]

In 1860 Family Affair was finally declared eligible for the theatre production. The reason for the permission was two-fold: Ostrovsky agreed to make several changes and the general state of the Imperial Theatres' repertoire has been recognized in the report as quite deplorable. In the early 1861 the Family Affair was premiered in Saint Petersburg as Yulia Linskaya's benefice and enjoyed great success. Two weeks later it was staged by Maly Theatre in Moscow, with Prov Sadovsky (as Podkhalyuzin) using his skillful art of gesticulation to express without words some of the things the author had been forced to cut out. Both Ostrovsky and the troupe were given long ovation and several hundred people followed the dramatist and his friends to his house.[2]

References Edit

  1. ^ a b Morozov, P. (1911). . Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  3. ^ B.Drashusova's letter to Ostrovsky, the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum archives, file 200)
  4. ^ Barsukov, N.P. The Life and works of M.P.Pogodin. Vol. 11, p. 68
  5. ^ The Lenin’s Library, fund 231, dpt. 2, 28/41.
  6. ^ Berg, I.V. Remembering N.V.Gogol. Russkaya Starina, 1872, No. 1, pp. 121-122
  7. ^ D.Pogodin. From Memoirs. Countess Rostopchina and her Parties. Istoricheskye Vesti, 1892, No. 4, p. 52
  8. ^ Berg, Nikolai. Countess Rostopchina in Moscow. Istoricheskye Vesti, 1893, No. 3, pp. 707, 708
  9. ^ A.N.Ostrovsky and the literary and theatrical scene of XIX-XX centuries. Leningrad, 1974, p. 44-62.
  10. ^ A.F.Veltman’s letter to E.I.Krupeninnikova, December 4, 1849. Lenin’s Library, fund 46, dpt II, 1/12).
  11. ^ Zhuravlyova, Anna Ivanovna (1990). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Russian Writers. Bibliographic dictionary. Ed. P.A.Nikolayev. Prosveshchenye. Retrieved 2012-03-01.

family, affair, settle, ourselves, russian, Свои, люди, сочтемся, romanized, svoi, lyudi, sotchtemsya, comedy, alexander, ostrovsky, first, major, work, written, 1849, published, march, book, 1850, moskvityanin, issue, having, caused, furore, banned, imperial,. It s a Family Affair We ll Settle It Ourselves Russian Svoi lyudi sochtemsya Romanized as Svoi lyudi sotchtemsya is a comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky It was his first major work written in 1849 and published in the No 6 March book 2 1850 Moskvityanin issue Having caused a furore it was banned by the Imperial Theatres censorship committee and was staged for the first time on 9 December 1860 ten years after its publication For some time the play has been also referred to as The Bankrupt which was its original title 1 It s a Family Affair We ll Settle It OurselvesWritten byAleksander OstrovskyDate premiered9 December 1860 1860 12 09 Place premieredMaly Theatre in MoscowOriginal languageRussianGenreComedyBackground EditAfter his attempt to write a play called The Legal Request Iskovoe proshenie failed Ostrovsky started working upon another storyline again stemming from his experience in the Moscow commercial court Uncertain in his own potential he invited a friend Tertiy Filippov to become a co author but the latter refused Then Dmitry Gorev real surname Tarasenko emerged the son of a merchant who lived not far from the Ostrovskys and later turned bankrupt who published a drama called Tzar the Liberator or the Poor Orphan in 1843 It was Gorev who suggested that they should work upon the play together Several scenes of Act 1 finished Gorev suddenly left Moscow and has not been seen there until 1853 when he re emerged to accuse Ostrovsky of stealing the text he Gorev had been the co author of 2 History Edit nbsp Konstantin Rybakov Bolshov and Mikhail Sadovsky Podkhalyuzin in the 1892 productionOstrovsky was working on The Bankrupt all through 1847 and 1848 By the end of 1849 it has been finished Ostrovsky s first audience was his University friend Alexey Pisemsky He also met the now famous actor Prov Sadovsky who much impressed started to recite the play to his literary friends in Moscow 1 In the summer Ostrovsky read the play at Mikhail Katkov s in Merzlyakovsky Lane where another Moscow University professor I V Belyaev was also present Both Ostrovsky and Sadovsky started to receive invitations to the houses of Moscow cultural elite Nikolai and Karolina Pavlovs Alexander Veltman professors Stepan Shevyryov and Mikhail Pogodin at Meshchersky s and Sheremetyev s even in the astronomer Alexander Drashusov s observatory 3 where they became frequent guests since the autumn of 1849 Ivan Goncharov who was in Moscow on his way from Saint Petersburg to Simbirsk has heard the Bankrupt liked it a lot and advised Ostrovsky to send the play to Krayevsky s Otechestvennye Zapiski The author decided against it still hoping to get the censorship permission first 4 In November 1849 Sadovsky read the play at the house of Countess Rostopchina who called it our Russian Tartuffe and expressed her delight with being the witness to the birth of our own theatre literature 5 Rostopchina s opinion impressed Pogodin and he asked Nikolai Berg to invite Ostrovsky to his home On December 3 Ostrovsky read the play to the audience which included Veltman Lev Mei the actor Shchepkin and notably Nikolai Gogol The success was immense although at least one of the guests Veltman expressed his reservations complaining about the duration of the event 6 7 8 9 10 The play was published in the March No 6 issue of Moskvityanin under the new title It s a Family Affair We ll Settle It Ourselves and made Ostrovsky famous in Moscow 11 The Bankrupt caused furor in the city Moskvityanin editor in chief Mikhail Pogodin wrote in a diary on March 20 four days after the No 6 issue of the magazine came out Governor Zakrevsky himself supported the play s theatrical production Then the situation changed The success of the play which satirized the uncultured self satisfied merchant class outraged some influential people and the reports started to fly to Petersburg as the actor and later Ostrovsky s publisher Modest Pisarev attested The Theatre and Literature censorial committee banned the play condemning its negativism pessimism and the lack of positive examples even if admitting that it contained nothing that would abuse the censorial rules directly Nikolai I having signed this document left upon it a hand written enquiry Who is this Ostrovsky the author of the Family Affair One of his aides Count Orlov forwarded this request to the 3rd Department s Moscow office and the city s secret police put the man who was still working in the court under surveillance 2 In a letter to the Minister of Education Ostrovsky admitted the play might have been flawed but added Comedy as far as my principles are concerned is the best genre in terms of achieving high moral goals I see it as the best way for me to reproduce real life and so I felt I had to write either a comedy or nothing I am convinced that God gives one talent to some purpose and this involves certain responsibilities For the time will come when every one of us will have to answer this question What have I done with the talent I ve been given 2 Countess Rostopchina passed this text to Gogol I find his answer most sensible God help him in his future work and let all doubts be dispelled as to the goodness of his intentions the later wrote back 2 Rather frightened by the official reaction Ostrovsky visited Zakrevsky This only gives you more honour the Governor reassured the young author meaning apparently that the Moscovites admired those of their intellectuals who fell out of favour with the authorities in Saint Petersburg Very soon Ostrovsky discovered he was indeed becoming highly popular with the Moscow cultural elite On 9 May 1850 he was invited to Gogol s birthday party 2 In 1860 Family Affair was finally declared eligible for the theatre production The reason for the permission was two fold Ostrovsky agreed to make several changes and the general state of the Imperial Theatres repertoire has been recognized in the report as quite deplorable In the early 1861 the Family Affair was premiered in Saint Petersburg as Yulia Linskaya s benefice and enjoyed great success Two weeks later it was staged by Maly Theatre in Moscow with Prov Sadovsky as Podkhalyuzin using his skillful art of gesticulation to express without words some of the things the author had been forced to cut out Both Ostrovsky and the troupe were given long ovation and several hundred people followed the dramatist and his friends to his house 2 References Edit a b Morozov P 1911 A M Ostrovsky biography Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary Archived from the original on 2012 05 16 Retrieved 2012 03 01 a b c d e f Lakshin Vladimir 1982 Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky Iskusstvo Moscow Life in Art series Retrieved 2012 03 01 B Drashusova s letter to Ostrovsky the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum archives file 200 Barsukov N P The Life and works of M P Pogodin Vol 11 p 68 The Lenin s Library fund 231 dpt 2 28 41 Berg I V Remembering N V Gogol Russkaya Starina 1872 No 1 pp 121 122 D Pogodin From Memoirs Countess Rostopchina and her Parties Istoricheskye Vesti 1892 No 4 p 52 Berg Nikolai Countess Rostopchina in Moscow Istoricheskye Vesti 1893 No 3 pp 707 708 A N Ostrovsky and the literary and theatrical scene of XIX XX centuries Leningrad 1974 p 44 62 A F Veltman s letter to E I Krupeninnikova December 4 1849 Lenin s Library fund 46 dpt II 1 12 Zhuravlyova Anna Ivanovna 1990 Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky Russian Writers Bibliographic dictionary Ed P A Nikolayev Prosveshchenye Retrieved 2012 03 01 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title It 27s a Family Affair We 27ll Settle It Ourselves amp oldid 1055852920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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