a dog's heart. a monstrous story

7/28/2019 A Dog's Heart. A Monstrous Story

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A Dog’s Heart

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T y A W. B

ONEWORLD

CLASSICS



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isbn: 9--9-0-

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Contents

I ix

A Dg’ H 1

Notes 127

E M 131

Mikhail Bulgakov’s Life 133

Mikhail Bulgakov’s Works 146

Select Bibliography 161



ix

I

A Dog’s Heart R Fk g

twist and a happy end. A kindly proessor perorms ag m g m g y

g m g ;

c d cdm v d

mm .

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940) suered at the hands o

the Soviet system. His amily, educated and religious, man-

aged to emigrate to France. As a doctor in the First WorldWar and later during the Civil War, he could not. His

lie’s vicissitudes made it dicult or him to survive as a

writer: ater perorming a tracheotomy on a child in 1917

he contracted diphtheria, which he treated with morphine

and soon ound himsel addicted. He went through three

marriages and battled constantly with Soviet censorship.Py c , mc The Master and

Margarita d 1966, d mc

o A Dog’s Heart was conscated in 1926, shortly ater it

was written, and not published until orty years later by a

Russian-language press in Germany.

H m , m y y Days of

the Turbins (9), v The White Guard (9), my g g

R Amy v R

y Bvk Rv 9. T y



x

a dog’s heart

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T v .

Proessor Preobrazhensky, a “high priest o science”,

is a godlike character who works on the rejuvenation o the ageing rich in order to discover the secrets o lie. His

disdain or the Soviet regime and Homo socialisticus is

expressed strongly and rankly, creating problems with



xi

introduction

the new Bolsheviks running his apartment building, a

quartet o ervent revolutionaries blinded by ideology

and stupidity.T v A Dog’s Heart m v

v, g mm: g

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y g m – mm “ ”

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Preobrazhensky – the dog can tell proletarians rom the

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md d ck d g md d-

standing o the canine mind. The narrative is continued

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g m v m, Skv,

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m m .

T g g,

g g vy. O kg . B ,

Bgkv .

Preobrazhensky is now a classic character, requently

quoted by Russians. Witty, acerbic, cultured and scholarly,

he is ull o theories about enjoying lie. He delivers a

wonderul lecture on how to eat and drink properly, the

main rule being: do not read Soviet newspapers beoremeals. He represents everything the revolutionary regime

wants to eradicate, just as Sharikov is the embodiment

o everything that is ruining Russia in the proessor’s



xii

a dog’s heart

view. To him, the Soviet culture is dumbing down the

country, lling people’s heads with talk o equality and

rebellion instead o instilling the virtues o hard workand education.

T c cmm d g-

, m mm

m mm f.

Bulgakov’s tale is imbued with religious and musical

symbolism and allusions. This story o the birth o anew man takes place between late December 1924 and

early January 1925; that is, between Christmas Eve on

the Western calendar and Christmas Eve on the Russian

Orthodox calendar. The religious underpinnings appear

in the proper names: “Preobrazhensky” comes rom the

Russian “Preobrazheniye” (“Transguration”) and is a

common surname among the clergy. The Arbat area wherethe action takes place has lanes with names like Myortvy

(“Dead”) and Prechistenka (“Holy”). The proessor is an

opera-lover, and he sings the chorus “To the Sacred Banks

o the Nile” rom Aida when he is under stress. A new

production o Aida entered the repertory o the Bolshoi

Opera Theatre in 1922. The chorus is sung to strengthenthe resolve o the Egyptian army and to aid the warrior

Rdm q m m v g Ad

into his legitimate wie when he becomes a commander.

The rst encounter with the opera is in the story’s open-

ing pages, when the stray dog grumbles about “the old

biddy who sings in the moonlight – ‘Celeste Aida’” (that

is, “Heavenly Aida”, which is Radames’s love aria). Whenthe proessor is in a more cheerul mood, he likes to sing

Don Juan’s Serenade, mc cmd y Tckvky

to a poem by Alexei Tolstoy. In it, Don Juan entreats the



xiii

introduction

lovely Nisetta to come out on her balcony so that he can

play his guitar or her.

A Dog’s Heart y M k: y,

, m

y g, m y.

Many o the characters are recognizable as well. The

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mdc d gycg. Sm Pzky’ -k d m: Mz (

yg v m kg jv) m-

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mill; the political ocial with a predilection or young

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m g k my.

T “ m” y y “ m” m vv Sv ym.

Sharikov becomes a monster who turns on his creator

f g; ggy,

it becomes clear that Sharikov is bound to turn on his

vy c . A c d.

T, A Dog’s Heart dy cm y d c c d y. T m , m Sk, cm

the main villain, the upstart Sharikov. Full o remorse,

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once again and reverses the operation. Peace is restored

to the apartment, but the social experiment outside his

y.

– A W. B, 0



A Dog’s Heart

A Monstrous Story



3

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A

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y, mm en sauce piquante,

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d I c my c y cy: m

I’ k k I’m



4

a dog’s heart

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g k ? Py m. I’v ,I’v my , I’m yg ’ y m

y g, my ’

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it. The worst part is this: once he’d poured the boiling

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guy with a stick can nish me o. And then the street-cleaners with their badges will grab me by my legs and

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g, c C Ty, d m



5

chapter 1

C Nmz N. W y

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mc fl de Perse ck-

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y m. Tg y ,

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d’ v g mv, d mv

c m. S dd d c .

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mg y-v k. A k

g? T g g

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g y ’ k m,

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H’ : “Wy ’ y y? I’m k

my My, k f , my m

m. I’m m , vyg I mzz g m f, A-D!* I

my y gy, I’m d , d

.”



6

a dog’s heart

I y , I . B I y my v m. T’

my gm kg, , ’ y

q . A ’ m m, about me? Where can I go? Beaten, scalded, spat upon,

I g? O-!

“H, y. Sk, m , Sk! Wy y -

g, g? E? D m y?… O!”

The blizzard wind, that witch, rattled the gates and

mk yg y m. I her skirt to her knees, revealing creamy stockings and a

y , fg

g y g.

My G, … O… A my m-

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k, kg g g, d d d, d d d y

, v.

The dog remained near the alley, suering the pain o

his mutilated side, pressed himsel against the cold wall,

held his breath and decided that he would never leave

this spot again, that he would die right there. Despairoverwhelmed him. He elt such bitterness and pain, such

loneliness and ear, that tiny canine tears bubbled rom his

eyes and dried on the spot. His ur on the wounded side

was all in shredded, rozen clumps, revealing vicious red

burns. How stupid, nasty and cruel were cooks. She called

him “Sharik”…* What the hell kind o “Sharik” was he!

Sharik was a fuball, a round, well-ed, dumb, oatmeal-eating son o pedigree parents, and he was a shaggy, bony

and scruy stray, a homeless dog. But thanks or the kind

thought.



7

chapter 1

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yg:

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doesn’t steal. He won’t kick you, but he’s not araid o y, ’ ’ v gy. H g-

m , F y

d d gy mc, fy d dg, k Fc

kg d, zzd c m d ’ d

– g.

W g m C Ecmy C-?

Now he’s right there… What’s he looking or? Oh-oh…What could he want to buy in that crummy little store,

aren’t the ancy stores on Okhotny Ryad* enough? What

is it?! Sausage. Mister, i you saw how they made that



8

a dog’s heart

sausage you wouldn’t go anywhere near the store. Give

it to me!

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zzd dd k f v m, g

g cv : “is rejuenation possible?”

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my y, g y v my m

my y, m vq , vy g g m g .

I m , I k ’ g g g k.

H’ dg v m. O, m! Lk m. I m dyg.

W’v g v’ , m !

T g k k y, mg .

N k’ k. B y’ gg gv m y.

Oh, I know rich people very well! Yet, essentially, what y ? W y -

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d k dy, y d my, k m x

gd. O-… W gg d? I

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rames around his eyes glinting, and took a long white

package out o his right pocket. Without taking o his

gv, , m

mmy k y, k g,

c cd Cc Sc. Ad gv c g. O, f v! O – !

“Phweet,” gm

v, “H! Sk, Sk!”



chapter 1

Sk g. I’v z. C m v y

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The dog instantly pulled o the casing, clamped onto C g g

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“Phweet!”

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v c, d x v d yy.

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Myortvy Lane, trying to clear the path, he scared some

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m’ y.

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, vg g gdespite the blizzard. Sharik almost lost his mind at the

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y k ,



1

a dog’s heart

have to share the processed meat. He snarled and bared

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processing centre or all the reeloaders hanging around

Pk.

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my . I’ y v y g.

“Phweet! T y!”

O Okv? By m. W k vy .

Phweet!

This way? With pleas— oh, no, sorry. There’s a door-man. There’s nothing worse than a doorman. Much more

dangerous than a street-cleaner. An absolutely hateul

breed. More disgusting than cats. A fayer in gold braid.

“D’ . G.”

“G vg, F Fv.”

“H, Fy.”N ’ y y. My G, v

y m, my g’ y! W k m

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k , g

gd-dd c. A g d . T’respect, gentlemen, real respect. Well, and I’m with him

m. W, m? H’ . I’ v

k my y . F



11

chapter 1

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“Ng.”

“A Fy Pvv?”

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“I’ m!”

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m kg.”

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I’m my y, yg. My mkg ,

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dg m m , d m m f.



12

C

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here’s absolutel no reason d

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Brothers’ electrical-goods shop on Myasnitskaya Street

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Tg m y . H “A”

m “Gvy”, c Mkvy,



13

chapter 2

“B” ( v m

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“C ?” Sk y.

“T ’ .” H g, g y: “N, ’ m

. I’ y , G y

k m.”



14

a dog’s heart

Bd y g xcd d y g cm

, g k . T

y yg m d c c d dg d m. T

m v v m, m’

k gv y vy.

“N y’ kg, ,” g g.

“P , M Sk,” m v y,

Sk vy, ggg.A great number o objects cluttered the rich entrance.

The foor-length mirror that instantly refected the second

bedraggled and scruy Sharik, the scary antlers up high,

the endless ur coats and rubber boots and the opal tulip

with electricity on the ceiling – all stuck in his head

immediately.

“Where did you pick up this one, Filipp Filippovich?”k m m m mv

vy , k- g.

“L! W mgy g!”

“N. W mgy?” gm k

vy gy.

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y y.

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Hmmm… T’ mg… y , m

you!… Hmmm… Ah! It’s a burn. What bastard scalded

y? E? S , y!”

“T ck, cm. T ck!” T dg k y .

“Z,” m, “g m mg

m m my !”

a dog's heart. a monstrous story

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