Valse Melancholique

 

Valse Melancholique / Olha Kobylianska
translated from the Ukrainian by Maria K
TSK Group, 2024, c1898
Read by Virginia Ferguson

I discovered this in my library's collection and was quite surprised to see it. It's a recent translation by a Russian-Ukrainian immigrant to the US, the multitalented Maria K. This is a classic, a novella from 1898 that I first read in a collection by Canadian publishers Language Lanterns, in their Women's Voices in Ukrainian literature series (highly recommended). 

I was intrigued and thought I'd revisit it in audiobook form. I found that I recalled the outlines of the story but had forgotten some of the details. So I enjoyed this! At first I wasn't sure about the reader; her accent was a bit unusual, until I finally figured out that she sounded exactly like Audrey Hepburn - not sure what kind of accent that is, but it was less distracting once I made that connection ;) 

In any case, this is a short novel, it comes in just under 2 hours when listening. It begins with a very good introduction giving a bio of Kobylianska (this is the generally accepted English spelling; this translation gives it in the Russian style). It places her in the context of the early feminist and progressive circles of that era and makes the story more understandable to anyone who has never heard of her before. I thought it was a great addition to this recording. 

The story is that of three young women, an artist, a musician and a student. Two of them are roommates but due to financial pressures, they find a third roommate -- the musician, Sofia, who also brings along her piano. Her arrival changes the tight duo that the other were used to; they both are dazzled by Sofia in different ways. There are many discussions in the story about art, about passion and committment to one's art, and about how to live. They decide that living without men, just being single women sharing flats and depending on one another for emotional and financial support is a great idea. They should do this forever. The artist even says something like, "we'll show them that being a single woman isn't something to be ashamed of."

But things get in the way of course. Each of them must follow their own path, whether that's marriage or something less traditional. But this brief moment of seeing them all burn bright is moving, and the vision of women being focused on education and self fulfillment in 1898 is powerful. There were a lot of Ukrainian women writing about freedom, self-determination and even the acceptance of same sex relationships at this time, it was a movement. There are deep roots in the Ukrainian drive for freedom, which still continues.