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• 1 2020-08-31T12:44:34-04:00 Wings 19-25 29 Mikhail Kuzmin plain 2020-12-14T08:54:58-05:00 Richard Chen
  
  pg. 19 — Ida Goldberg 
  A hopeless romantic who is in love with Larion Dmitriyevich Stroop. Was met with a tragic end upon learning of her reciprocated love. 

  pg. 19 — Geranium
  An easy-to-grow flower that has been a long loved favorites for gardeners. Though typically called geranium, this vibrant, pink-red plant is technically called Pelargonium, as the first Dutch explorers who "discovered" this plant from South Africa mistakenly thought it was the same "geranium" species as its European counterpart. 

  pg. 19 — Aphrodisian
  A word pertaining to Aphrodite (Roman counterpart: Venus), the ancient Greek love of goddess of love, beauty, carnal pleasure, and procreation. Thought to have emerged from the sea-foams produced by the severed genitals of the Greek god Uranus, she often walked upon human-kind in disguise, intervening with the affairs of ancient lives. It is key to note that since Aphrodite is the goddess of many aspects of human behavior, she has many epithets that each focuses on a specific aspect of the domains she oversees. The most common epithets are "Aphrodite-Pandemos," which is the aspect of her associated with seduction (sexual love) and as an extension, persuasion, and "Aphrodite-Ourania," the aspect of her associated with spiritual/divine love and is one of the inspiration for homosexuality (as the love seen between two men were deemed more "divine" than the love for woman). In the context of Wings, it is good to keep both aspects of Aphrodite in mind as our main character, Vanya, tries to find himself.

  pg. 20 — Botticelli
  Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, more commonly known as Sandro Botticelli, was a famous painter during the early Italian-Florentine Renaissance period. This esteemed painter created some of the most famous works seen and known by people all over the globe, with the most famous ones being "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." 

  pg. 20 — Samson and Delilah
  A classical biblical story. It was said that Samson had the strength unmatched by any mortal men, braver and courageous than the most ferocious beasts, and blessed by god to be a noble warrior. During the conflicts between Israel and Philistia thousands of years ago, Samson, born and raised a devote Hebrew, fell in love with a beauty named Delilah. As the on-going wars between the Philistines and Israelites ensued, the Philistines wanted to assassinate Israel's most notorious warrior; however, all attempts to assassinate Samson had failed. Desperate, the Philistines tried to bribe Delilah with thousands of silver coins to make Samson reveal the secrets behind his powers. Delilah asked inquired three times, and three times, Samson fooled her by giving her false answers. Pressuring Samson again with the notion of whether he truly loved her, Delilah was finally entrusted with the power behind Samson's power: the locks of hair that God had abstained Samson from cutting since his birth. Immediately upon learning this, Delilah shaved Samson's head and entire body while he was asleep during the following night. When morning came, Samson was left powerless and was captured by the Philistines. When brought upon the Philistine leaders in a sacred Philistine temple, Samson prayed to God to grant him strength one last time. God obliges, and Samson broke out of his shackles, used his immeasurable strength to knock over the main support pillars of the temple. Everyone, including him, perished, as the weight of the temple collapsed upon them. 
  In the story of Wings, it was mentioned that the story of Samson and Delilah were supposed to premier in the play attended by Vanya, Stroop, Nata, among others. It may be important to keep in mind that the story around Samson and Delilah focuses on the betrayal of the woman protagonist, implying the "evils" woman may have upon men (much like the story of Pandora in "Pandora's Box" or Eve stealing an apple from the Garden of Eden in the story of Adam and Eve). In the lens of the ancient Greeks, the satisfaction of receiving carnal pleasures from the opposite sex may be deemed as "profane" in a sense, as the love between two brotherly men are deemed more divine due to the separation of mindful love and the physical pleasures. Kuzmin may be trying to use the story of Samson and Delilah to hint to the reader of how even the holy Bible portrays the love between men and women may be dangerous. 

  pg. 20 — Carmen
  Carmen is an opera written by French composer Georges Bizet in the late 19th-century. The story of Carmen follows the protagonist, Don José, a Spanish soldier, who was posted to guard of a factory. While originally supposed to marry his childhood-sweetheart, Micaëla, José was enchanted by the beauty, Carmen, who was an accused-assailant. Though José was supposed to take Carmen to prison, he sets her free and José was promptly arrested. Upon release, José deserted his duties as a soldier and eloped with Carmen, but after some time had passed, Carmen became bored with José. In comes, Escamillo, a bullfighter, who was also infatuated with Carmen. He confessed his love to Carmen and invited everyone to his next bullfight. When the day of the bullfight came, Carmen abandoned José for Escamillo despite the sacrifices José had made for her. Overcame by jealousy, José stabbed Carmen and professed his guilt, sobbing on the stage as the curtains close. 
  It is interesting how in Wings, Kuzmin decided to replace the showing of Samson and Delilah with that of Carmen. Both stories depict women toying with the love of men, and consequentially, betraying their lovers. Like the note for Samson and Delilah, the mentioning of Carmen may be Kuzmin trying to imply the potential "dangers" of men loving women. With the Greek cultures in context, this supports the notion of man-to-man love as being more "pure" and "divine."

  pg. 20 — Lilas Pastia
  A tavern within the opera of Carmen. This is where Carmen and José met after José was freed from his prison-sentence.

  pg. 21 — Nietzsche
  Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche is a German philosopher who lived in the mid-to-late 19th-century who introduced various ground-breaking texts and thoughts regarding the moralities and philosophies of the human-condition. Here are some of his most prominent thoughts:

  • Übermensch: Translated directly into English, this phrase means "Superman." This idea revolves around the belief that humans are much stronger, courageous, and creative than what most people give themselves credit for. Nietzsche believes that everyone is able to control their own fate, have their own drive, and change their own circumstances. Everyone is able to become whomever they want, rise as high as they want, and change whatever they want if they have the will and drive. Throughout history, there are only a few people who could be considered "Übermensch," with the most prominent ones include Napoleon, Beethoven, Goethe, etc. who all survived hardships and rose to fame. The idea is to never conform and never be content, which leaves us to the next point:
  • Don't Follow Christianity: Nietzsche believed that religion, especially Christianity, prevents a person from becoming an Übermensch. He believed that Christian values promote conformity, cowardice, disengagement, and stagnation. Traditional Christian stories tell many stories of martyrs who have the abilities to fight back, escape capture, or rise to power, but chose not to. Additionally, common Christian values, phrases, and teachings, such as "God has a purpose for you" or "it's all in God's will; we can't control the fate determined by God," reinforce submissiveness and inaction. He believed that Christianity was an invention made by powerless slaves during the Roman Empire to make themselves feel better for their inability to rise up or to justify their hardships, which promotes cowardice and complacency instead of taking actions to try to change their fates (eg. waiting for God to punish evil-doers instead of taking action). Finally, Nietzsche believed the hypocrisy of Christianity humans from reaching their full potential. Instead of taking advantage of "deadly sin" like envy as a motivation to chase your dreams, pride to as a means to feel proud and be fulfilled with accomplishments, gluttony or lust as taking full advantage of the pleasures and creativity life has to offer (eg. painting a picture of someone nude to display beauty or enjoying an expensive dinner with friends), etc., Christianity inhibits people's desires, motivations, growth, ambitions, and so much more. To be an Übermensch, one must not follow Christianity. This directly leads onto the next point:
  • God is Dead: The Age of Enlightenment have proved that God is not real. The scientific methods and studies disproved all stories of Creationism as well as the presence of a Higher Being. Because of this, God simply can not exist, hence, God is dead. Nietzsche believed people have morals due to the potential of a higher power; however, without religion, Nietzsche believed that culture, philosophy, and science could take the role religion used to play, including rebuilding the foundation of morality. Despite this, there are still many dangers humanity may face if religion were to be given up, including the feeling of meaninglessness and if things go the wrong way, it may bring bring out everyone's worst part of themselves. This would lead directly into nihilism.
  Although this annotation is fairly long, the reason I want to flesh this out is due to the context at which Kuzmin used Nietzsche in Wings. Stroop specifically mentions how he could understand how Nietzsche would love the Carmen opera, which implies Stroop being well-versed in Nietzsche's beliefs and Nietzsche as a person as to make comments for Nietzsche. At this point of the book, it has been hinted multiple times that Stroop may be homosexual. Stroop being well-versed in Nietzsche may support this notion, as traditional Christian values do not allow for homosexuality to exist; the philosophy and school of thought that may allow homosexuality to take place would be under Nietzsche's philosophy, which is to take command of oneself, reject Christianity, and not conform to religion.

  pg. 21 — St. Petersburg 

  In the context of when Wings was published (1906), St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia at the time. Founded by Peter the Great, this city took on heavy industrialization, becoming one of the fastest growing cities. It's to note that the heavy industrialization may lead to the environment being filled with heavy smog, as well as many destitute people rushing in from the country-side to find work as serfdom was "abolished." As a result, slums grew around the area. Additionally, in 1905 in St. Petersburg, the 1905 Revolution took place, in which social unrest was on the rise due to the failing economy, high rates of unemployment, the lack of food, the recent humiliating defeat by the hands of the "primitive" Japan, harsh working conditions, etc. It's always good to keep the setting of where Wings took place in mind.
  
  pg. 23 — The Three Unities
  In classic tragedies or plays, the three unities is a set of guidelines for writing plays created in 16th century Italy, supposedly inspired by Greek Philosopher and playwright Aristotle. It consists of three unities (hence its name): 

  • Unity of Action: A tragedy should have one plot
  • Unity of Time: The setting of the tragedy should not span over long period of time; it should be limited to one day only
  • Unity of Place: There should only be one physical location for the tragedy

  pg. 23 — Klinger
  Most likely referring to Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger. Klinger was a well-respected playwright who won many acclamation from peers and critics alike. After the publication of some his plays, he joined the Austrian military to fight in the Bavarian War, and later enlisted in the Imperial Russian Army. He had a successful career, and granted nobility as well as being recognized by Czar Alexander. Klinger was known for having upright morals and being overall accomplished.

  pg. 23 — Antinous
  Antinous was a Greek youth, beloved by Roman Emperor Hadrian during the early 2nd century. It has been said that Hadrian and Antinous had sexual affairs with each other, as sexual relations between a boy and a man was quite common in Ancient Greece. This same tradition carried its way into the Roman Empire, with bisexuality being generally accepted during the rule of Hadrian. Usually, the older party of the relationship would take on a parental, caring role for the youth, being a key figure in the educational development of the youth. Hadrian and Antinous's relationship was no different; Hadrian and Antinous traveled, hunted, and read poetries together, spending much of their daily lives among the presence of each other. Upon the death of Antinous, Hadrian made Antinous into a deity and founded the city of Antinoöpolis to memorialize Antinous. In today's culture, Antinous became a deity who is associated with homosexuality. 
  When reading the text for the first time, it is difficult to notice all the subtle details surrounding the possibility of a person exhibiting homosexuality. In the passage, it was stated that Vanya's Greek teacher, Daniil Ivanovich, had the statue of Antinous in his room, hinting at Ivanovich's homosexual nature as well. This is a significant juxtaposition, as ancient Greek and ancient Roman literature and history were often revered as sacred and of utmost cultural relevance, yet only selective parts of Greek and Roman literature and history were accepted while others a ignored. Homosexuality in literature is a good example, where it occurs often in famous Greek and Roman literature and histories, yet this aspect was willingly ignored by the people in early 20th century Russia.

  pg. 23 — Achilles and Patroclus
  Achilles was said to be one of the strongest warrior in history and was a major hero during the Trojan War, fighting on the side of the Greek city-state coalition against Troy. Legends state that his mother dipped him by the heel in the River Styx, a sacred river running in the Greek underworld. As a result, everywhere the sacred water had touched the skin of Achilles, that portion of his skin would be impenetrable to any weapon. In Homer's "Illiad," Achilles played a large part in helping Greeks during the Trojan War, but when the leader of the Greek coalition, King Agamemnon, stole his prized beauty Briseis from the spoils of war, Achilles shut him in and refused to participate in the war. 
  It was said that Achilles was callous towards all but his male companion, Patroclus, to whom he was rather tender towards. Achilles and Patroclus were usually portrayed to be close lovers before and during the Trojan War. Upon the death of Patroclus at the hands of the Trojan hero and crown-price Hector, Achilles, overcame with grief and revenge, disregarded his grudge against King Agamemnon and wreaked havoc at the Trojan lines, killing Hector, and parading his dead body around the cities of Troy. The story of Achilles and Patroclus is a famous example of how "divine" the love between two men were during the period of Ancient Greece.

  pg. 23 — Orestes and Pylades 
  Orestes was the son of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra while Pylades is the son of King Strophius and Queen Anaxibia, both during the period of the Ancient Greeks. Orestes and Pylades were stated to be intimate lovers, to the point in which authors depicted their relationship to be homoerotic. When Orestes and Pylades were taken captive by a native population, they were left with a difficult decision: one was to remain and be killed, the other set free and be sent as a messenger to their home. Both were unwillingly to let the other one die and such, signified their intimate, unbounded love for each other.

  pg. 24 — St. Isaac
  Referring to St. Isaac's Cathedral, located in St. Petersburg. This towering, elegant cathedral was dedicated to St. Isaac of Dalmatia, the patron saint for Peter the Great. It was built and designed by western architects and instills both traditional Russian and Russian-Byzantine properties, including a dome that stands as one of the tallest domes in the world.

  pg. 25 — dachas
  Dachas refer to small, country estates, usually given to vassals loyal to the Tsar. They served as summer retreats and vacation homes for the wealthy population of Russia, who wanted to escape the rapid industrialized cities and the influx of destitute farmers migrating in. Today, many Russians own dachas.

  pg. 25 — Volga
  This is referring to the Volga River, the largest river in Europe, that runs through Central Russia to the Caspian Sea. This was often regarded as the national river of Russia, and is often used as a trade-route between Asian and Europe. 

  pg. 25 — Plyos
  A small town located next to the Volga River founded in the 12th-century.

  pg. 25 — Vasilsursk
  Another small town located on the banks of the Volga River. 

  pg. 25 — Varvara Nikolayevna Shpeier
  A name mentioned by Nata when she suggested to visit the small towns of Pylos and Vasilsursk along the Volga River. She is part of the Shpeier sisters mentioned early in the beginning of the text.