Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

Professor Dahl began to laugh. "I support Katharina. The horoscope is the answer: higher coincidences! We knownothing about such a correlation. But Alexandra’s example has a strange meaning, the anthropological origins of thepenitence movement, as well as Christ’s death all relate to Carnival. This orgiastic festival is ancient."He shook his head again and mused. "Come to think of it: Saturn reigns and the Moon is waning! How could I haveforgotten? Katharina is right!"Thus vindicated, Katharina pursed her lips smugly. "That is what I meant, Fasching and the Church festivals aregoverned by the lunar calendar, which is a female calendar, isn’t it?"Caught by his future daughter-in-law, Dahl gave himself charmed. "Yes, all religious ideas follow lunar cycles: four timesseven equals twenty-eight days! Who invented the number seven, matriarchy? Was the moon female first—i selene, laluna, la lune-–and after it God created woman? Presumably so, and I have foolishly entertained the vain hope that byusing rational psychology we could do away with this kind of religious superstition. But what would we do without ourcharming women? I consider myself defeated!"He lifted his glass to the women around the table.Konrad said. "Ash Wednesday, Lenten, Easter is in a couple of weeks. Easter and the Mysteries, Joachim, have youever heard the story of the Easter play at Zedazeni, which my mother-in-law produces every year?"Joachim shook his head. "I have heard rumors of it, but in my official position in Tiflis I never dared attending, andnobody could explain to me what was happening up there during Easter Night. But Alexandra, what has your dearmother to do with these things?"Alexandra laughed. "Konrad, may I tell our story including your tentative interpretation and its latest modification withPersephone eating the pomegranate pits?"Konrad smiled, thinking of Zaguramo. "If everyone agrees to listen to a lengthy tale which has become part of theChavchavadze-Dadiani family lore, so be it. I see, we have entered the charmed circles of Hauff’s fairy tales."Claiming everyone’s rapt attention Alexandra told of the strange Easter happenings at Zedazeni."You know, Lexako," said Niko who had listened to his sister with increasing fascination. "I have never heard that story.Of course, I knew that Deda attended Easter service at Zedazeni, but she never told me what happened up there, northat she acted in that play."Alexandra nodded. "It was a well-kept family secret, only Ilia and Papa knew of her acting in the play, and Papa was notgoing to tell anybody. Besides neither he nor Ilia had ever seen Deda perform at Zedazeni. The whole matter was muchtoo embarrassing. I am still proud of my mother’s daring. Imagine a married woman acting and against the expressed willof her husband—in Georgia!"Now Niko wanted to hear more of the details. "And what about that strange woman, Persephone? Was she really a closefriend of Deda’s? The witch of Shavnabada?"Konrad, restless, looked at his watch. "Niko, it is almost ten, we should be going home."But he was outvoted by the Dahls and the Bredows.Very animatedly Mrs. Dahl pleaded. "Now that we have entered Hauff’s maze, as Konrad says, we want to hear the nextstory nested in Alexandra’s story, please Konrad let her continue."Alexandra took off her necklace and handed it to Clara. "It all started with this necklace."Konrad shook his head, but Alexandra continued undaunted. "Konrad met an Armenian goldsmith, and under his tutelagehe made this necklace for me. Henri is a Sufi, he took Konrad as his student and introduced him to his tekke.Persephone was the sheikh of this tekke."Joachim became agitated. "During my six years in Tiflis I have tried several times unsuccessfully to penetrate the Suficircles, and your necklace I have admired so often and never dared to ask who made it. Konrad, you? A Sufi?!"Konrad smiled about Joachim’s excitement. "Not quite a Sufi, only an apprentice to an exceptional Sufi master."Urged on by Joachim and Clara, Konrad and Alexandra alternatingly told the stories of the necklace, of Henri andPersephone.At two in the morning Friedrich drove them home in his father’s car."What an extraordinary evening!" exclaimed Joachim when they separated at the Bredow’s hotel, "I should have had tocome to Munich to discover the hidden life of Tiflis!"A week later Joachim visited Konrad and Alexandra to bring them the encouraging news that the Tsar had appointedWitte President of the Council of Ministers, the emperor’s advisory cabinet. Witte had immediately forced the Tsar todismiss the incapable ministers in the cabinet and replaced them with energetic and trustworthy men of his own choice.The political situation must have frightened Nicholas sufficiently, commented Joachim, to accept this horse cure.Konrad remarked that Witte was hardly a revolutionary. Joachim, the diplomat he was, pointed out that this was exactlythe encouraging aspect of the development. Witte would strengthen the vacillating hand of the Emperor. A more radicalgovernment would create total chaos at this time. Witte had first to settle the war and stabilize Russia’s economy, beforehe could persuade the Emperor to accept a constitution. Thank God, the threat of a radical revolution had once againbeen averted.After Joachim left, Konrad and Alexandra got into a heated political argument. Alexandra, stung by Joachim’s108