BEg2 chapter 5 Korobushka detail

[Michael Bailey]

“From some distant cubicle comes a tinny electronic melody Maxine
recognizes as “Korobushka,” the anthem of nineties workplace fecklessness,
playing faster and faster and accompanied by screams of anxiety. Ghost
vendor indeed. Has she entered some supernatural timewarp where the shades
of office layabouts continue to waste uncountable person-hours playing
Tetris? No wonder the tech
sector tanked. She creeps toward the plaintive folk tune….”

1) Tetris appeared in AtD in disguise.

2) Korobushka turns into Korobeiniki when searching.
I think maybe “ushka” is one of those affectionate Russian diminutives like
Misha and Grisha later in the book?
It’s silly to impute anything to Pynchon, but when has that ever stopped
one?
 I think he has a soft spot for Russians.
End of Vineland also…

3) Korobeiniki - appeared first as a poem in the magazine Sovremennik,
which was founded by Alexander (Sasha? - & whence that diminutivution, one
wonders) Pushkin and has an interesting history of its own on Wikipedia…

The author was Nikolai Alexandrovich Nekrasov, who was also the owner and
publisher of Sovremennik, so he didn’t have to worry about rejection slips.

My loose summary of Wikipedia’s:

The poem tragically recounts a courtship conducted as a business
transaction between Vanya, a young peddler, who seduces a peasant girl
named Katya one night in a field of rye with the promise of some of his
goods. The only thing she accepts is a turquoise ring, and the next morning
he gets into the spirit of it all & promises to marry her.

Now in the poem, he makes some dough at the market the next day, and
heading back trying to find that field of rye he asks directions from a
forest ranger. The forest ranger robs and kills him.

What’s the moral here? The man isn’t initially romantic enough…or, gets
inspired too late?


In the song, they truncate the ending out of existence. Which I do not miss
it.

Oh, my crate is so full,
I've got calico and brocade
<https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Brocade>.
Take pity, oh sweety,
Of this lad's shoulder

I will, I will go out into the tall rye,
I will wait there till the night comes,
Once I see the dark-eyed lass,
I will showcase all my goods.

I paid no small price myself,
So don't bargain or be stingy,
Bring your scarlet lips to me,
Sit closer to this fine lad.

The foggy night has already come,
The daring lad is awaiting,
Hark, it's her! The desired one has come,
The merchant is selling his goods.

Katya is haggling with care,
She is afraid to pay too much,
A lad is kissing his lass,
Asking her to raise the price.

Only the deep night knows,
What they agreed upon.
Straighten up now, oh tall rye,
And keep their secret scrupulously!

Oh, my crate is so light;
The strap is no longer cutting into my shoulders!
And all my lass took
Was one turquoise
<https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Turquoise> ring

I had given her a whole piece of calico,
A scarlet ribbon for her braids,
A little belt — for the white shirt
To strap while haymaking.

The sweet one put everything
back into the box, but for the ring:
"I do not want to go around dressed up
Without a fiancé!"

Oh, you foolish young maidens!
Did she herself not bring
The half-flask of sweet vodka?
And she did not take the gifts!

So stay right here! An unbreakable
Promise I give:

Once I empty the crate,
I'll return home for Pokrov
<https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Intercession_of_the_Theotokos>
,
And you, my Sweetheart,
To God's church
<https://en.wikipedia.org/api/rest_v1/page/mobile-html/Russian_Orthodox_Church>
I
will lead!

Up until the rainy evening,
The fine lad runs,
And catches up to a grumbling comrade
in the village.

Old Tihonych swears:
"I really thought you were gone!"
Vanka only smirks-
I was selling the calico!


What this reminds me of is the singing courtship in the Kirghiz episode of
GR.

It’s, like, antipodal -

The Kirghiz courtship appears around a campfire with everybody and their
uncle present. A bunch of qumys is circulating. There’s a burst of aggro in
their singing…insults to someone’s somewhat obese horse…then they begin to
talk of a wedding.

“Korobeiniki” has the 2 meet in secret, there’s merchandising that resolves
into courtship, rather than animosity that softens into love, and Vanya
 doesn’t even tell old (“starets”?) Tihonych, whoever he is, about Katya at
all.
Scene closes on Vanya smirking.

Detournement practiced by lyricist.
Minstrels: in some traditions tend to be less rigid about monogamy…

If every little thing means something, the choice of this song in
particular points to the -
Ah, well let’s say it means everything:
It points to the dehumanization implicit in the gig economy as enabled by
computers (eg Driscoll) which makes it harder to conduct long term
relationships just as Vanya (or Horst) can’t disengage from his role as
merchant to really fall in love!