ve brought this up purposely. With us, you see,
they write about detectives, about lawyers, about inspectors of the
revenue, about pedagogues, about attorneys, about the police, about
officers, about sensual ladies, about engineers, about baritones--and
really, by God, altogether well--cleverly, with finesse and talent.
But, after all, all these people, are rubbish, and their life is not
life but some sort of conjured up, spectral, unnecessary delirium of
world culture. But there are two singular realities--ancient as
humanity itself: the prostitute and the moujik. And about them we know
nothing save some tinsel, gingerbread, debauched depictions in
literature. I ask you: what has Russian literature extracted out of all
the nightmare of prostitution? Sonechka Marmeladova alone.[8]

What has it given us about the moujik save odious, false, nationalistic
pastorals? One, altogether but one, but then, in truth, the greatest
work in all the world--a staggering tragedy, the truthfulness of which
takes the breath away and makes the hair stand on end. You know what I
am speaking of ..."

[7] The reference here is most probably to Chekhov.--TRANS.

[8] The heroine of Dostoievsky's "Crime and Punishment."--Trans.

"'The little claw is sunk in...'"[9] quietly prompted Lichonin.

[9] "The little claw is sunk in, the whole bird is bound to perish"--a
folk proverb used by Tolstoi as a sub-title to his "The Power of
Darkness."--Trans.

"Yes," answered the reporter, and looked kindly at the student with
gratefulness.

"But as regards Sonechka--why, this is an abstract type," remarked
Yarchenko with assurance. "A psychological scheme, so to speak..."

Platonov, who up to now had been speaking as though unwillingly, at a
slow rate, suddenly grew heated:

"A hundred times have I heard this opinion, a hundred times! And it is
entirely an untruth. Underneath the coarse and obscene profession,
underneath the foulest oaths--about one's mother--underneath the
drunken, hideous exterior--Sonechka Marmeladova still lives! The fate
of the Russian prostitute--oh, what a tragic, piteous, bloody,
ludicrous and stupid path it is! Here everything has been juxtaposed:
the Russian God, Russian breadth and unconcern, Russian despair in a
fall, Russian lack of culture, Russian naivete, Russian patience,
Russian shamelessness. Why, all of them, whom you take into
bedrooms,--look upon them, look upon them well,--why, they are all
children;