French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Pushkin, Rusalka
Theatre and Performance
Alexander Pushkin, Rusalka
Translated from the Russian and introduced by Christiane Pighetti.
Paris: Allia, 2017.
64 pp.
EAN 9791030405811
6.20 EUR
Publisher's Description:
Mermaid, undine, naiad... Sometimes, drowned women, suicide victims, or young women taken prematurely by a violent death are transformed into one of those mythical creatures that the Slavs call a rusalka. They charm men with their song, luring them close to the water's edge to drag them down with them. From this universal figure, Pushkin crafts a drama with a uniquely Russian flavor.
A miller's daughter is desperately in love with a prince. When he abandons her, pregnant, to marry another, she throws herself into the Dnieper, and the Russian countryside suddenly takes on the air of a dark fairy tale. The miller goes mad: his daughter is said to speak to him from the depths. The prince himself hears his child's voice. The young peasant girl still loves him and is waiting for him. Perhaps it is nothing but regret... But it is you who might be swept away by the spell of Rusalka.
Alexander Pushkin draws upon Slavic folklore to explore themes of betrayal, madness, and tragic love through the tragic fate of a deserted miller's daughter. Transforming the universal figure of the drowned water sprite into a distinctly Russian narrative, the play bridges romantic drama and dark fairy tale. This concise edition, translated and introduced by Christiane Pighetti and published by Allia, makes the dramatic verse accessible to contemporary readers interested in nineteenth-century Russian literature and theatrical traditions.
This work will particularly interest students of Slavic folklore, comparative mythology, and nineteenth-century European drama. It offers valuable insight into Pushkin's theatrical experiments and his engagement with national folklore during a pivotal period of Russian letters. By examining how myth intersects with human psychology, particularly through the descent into madness and the haunting presence of the supernatural, the text invites deeper reflection on the darker currents of Romanticism.