|
Valentin Kataev (1897-1986) was a notable Soviet-era Russian novelist and playwright. As a young man he fought with the Red Army. After the Civil War he began working as a journalist and then turned to writing novels and plays. Somehow managed to craft insightful works describing Soviet social conditions without violating the standards of Sopviet censors. Very few notable authors were able to accomplish this. One of his most beloved books is Beleyet parus odinoky/A White Sail Gleams (1936). Russian readers will immediately recognize both the book and the date, Kataev published it in the midst of the Great Terror. It was a popular success in Russia and immediately turned iinto a movie (1937). Here is a screenshot from the film. The story is set in Tsarist times. It is about the revolutional events of 1905 from the point of view of two small boys - one Petya, from the family of a school teacher, and second Gavrik, son of a poor fisherman.
Valentin Kataev (1897-1986) was a notable Soviet-era Russian novelist and playwright. As a young man he fought with the Red Army. After the Civil War he began working as a journalist and then turned to writing novels and plays. Somehow managed to craft insightful works describing Soviet social conditions without violating the standards of Sopviet censors. Very few notable authors were able to accomplish this.
One of his most beloved books is Beleyet parus odinoky/A White Sail Gleams (1936). Russian readers will immediately recognize both the book and the date, Kataev published it in the midst of the Great Terror. It was a popular success in Russia and immediately turned iinto a movie (1937). The story is set in Tsarist times. It is about the revolutional events of 1905 from the point of view of two small boys - one Petya, from the family of a school teacher, and second Gavrik, son of a poor fisherman. We suspect that writing about the revolutionary 1905 period and about children was a lottle safer than writing about contemprary Soviet Russian and adults. Here is a translation from Kataev's book with a description of Petya's clothes:
"Petya wore his city Sunday suit, which he had quite outgrown during the summer: a navy-blue woollen sailor blouse with a white-edged collar, short trousers, long lisle stockings, button-shoes, and a broad-brimmed straw hat. .... All summer long Petya had run about practically naked. He was now as brown as an Indian and could walk barefoot over burrs and thorns. He had gone swimming three times a day. At the beach he used to smear himself from head to foot with the red marine clay and then scratch out designs on his chest. That made him really look like a Red Indian, especially when he stuck into his hair the blue feathers of those marvellously beautiful birds—real fairy-tale birds—which built their nests in the bluff. And now, after all that wealth and freedom, to have to walk about in a tight woollen sailor blouse, in prickly stockings, in shoes that pinched, and in a big straw hat with an elastic that rubbed against his ears and pressed into his neck!"
"На Пете был городской праздничный костюм, из которого он за лето сильно
вырос: шерстяная синяя матроска с пристроченными вдоль по воротнику белыми
тесемками, короткие штанишки, длинные фильдекосовые чулки, башмаки на
пуговицах и круглая соломенная шляпа с большими полями. .... Все лето Петя пробегал почти нагишом. Он загорел, как индеец, привык
ходить босиком по колючкам, купался три раза в день. На берегу он
обмазывался с ног до головы красной морской глиной, выцарапывая на груди
узоры, отчего и впрямь становился похож на краснокожего, особенно если
втыкал в вихры сине-голубые перья тех удивительно красивых, совсем сказочных
птиц, которые вили гнезда в обрывах.
И теперь, после всего этого приволья, после всей этой свободы, - ходить
в тесной шерстяной матроске, в кусающихся чулках, в неудобных ботинках, в
большой соломенной шляпе, резинка которой натирает уши и давит горло!"
Note that here we get a useful insight to what a boy at the time thought about his clothes. Kataev was a boy in the period he describes. He seems to object to elastic chin straps and "prickly" long wool stockings as well as ill-fitting shoes. The book is a novel, but novels written in contemporary times, such as the time when the author was a boy can provide very useful insights about fashion conventions and what boys thought about the clothes they wore. This is the kind of information you can not get from photographs and clothing catalogs.
Kataev's book proved so popular that it was made into a film the following year. Here is a screenshot from the film. We see Petya in his wide-brimmed sailor hat and white sailor suit. I have not seen the film so do not know how closely it follows the book. Areader tells us, "The two boys eventually help revolutionary soldiers in the Black Sea area (Crimea). The authorities are looking for a sailor who the boys hide."
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Russian novel page]
[Return to the Main Russian movie page]
[Return to the Main Movie Wa-Wh page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Bibliographies]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Russian page]
[Russian choir page]
[Russian movie page]
[Russian school uniform page]
[Russian royal page]
[Russian youth organination page]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Main country page]
[Australia]
[Canada]
[England]
[France]
[Germany]
[Ireland]
[Italy]
[Mexico]
[New Zealand]
[Poland]
[Scotland]
[United States]
