sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

Rostopchina mère’s observations of the difficult and interrelated stateless cultures of Jews and Poles,
cultures masked by outward appearances of wealth and security, were the spark for the poem, not
her own marriage nor imperial politics.
Following this entry, Rostopchina presented her uncle’s autobiographical essay. Quoted at length,
the source confronted public opinions about the ballad. The uncle acknowledged the poem’s true
origins, yet he also was aware of how the poem was misinterpreted. Such misunderstandings, he
understood, encouraged rumors about the poem’s origins.
The allegorical meaning – from an erroneous perspective – of the political relations
between Poland and Russia was expressed in the ballad “The Forced Marriage” so
obviously that there was no possibility of not understanding nor denying it…. However, for
a short period after this anonymous poem appeared in The Northern Bee, no one paid
attention to it or gave it any thought! From on high it was said that Emperor Nikolai
Pavlovich's gracious favor was great towards my sister; so the appearance of this ballad
should not have astounded the Sovereign, yet it saddened and angered him... In our
heartfelt conversations, [my sister] sincerely recognized her guilt and was sorry for writing
this ill‐fated poem, which escaped from under her pen unintentionally and was
thoughtlessly influenced by the impressions and foolish rumors she heard abroad about
Poland’s political situation, in whose fate she previously had never been interested… as
most everyone in Russian high society, both women and men, know (192‐193).
In this piece, Rostopchina’s uncle mentioned multiple sources of (mis)information, suggesting that
rumors and misunderstandings lay at the heart of this episode. The insinuation that gossip and
erroneous interpretations shaped the poem’s and the poet’s legacies suggest that both Rostopchina
and her uncle comprehended the powerful and misdirecting influence of rumors.
Rostopchina then corrected part of her uncle’s reminiscences, noting that he overlooked the
poem’s scandalous reception in St. Petersburg and the police’s zealous confiscation of the journal
issue in which the ballad appeared. To complete this episode, she shared how her mother petitioned
to gain entrance to the Imperial Court when it visited Moscow in 1847. Rostopchina mère presented
her request to the Governor General Zakrevskii. On receiving the petition, the Emperor
grabbed a pen and struck through her name with such fury that he ripped the paper.
Having witnessed this anger, Zakrevskii cowardly hid the incident from my mother… My
mother exited the royal palace quietly, slightly embarrassed... (194‐195).
Like her uncle, Rostopchina emphasized the emotional impact that endured beyond the publication
date of the poem. She buried “The Forced Marriage” episode and her mother’s regrets and
humiliation. They can be found between vibrant recollections of her family’s three‐year sojourn in
Europe, their return to Russia, and her mother’s plan to regain the family’s access to the Court by
sending her son to a costume ball sponsored by the Imperial family. Given the author’s structural
choices, it is easy to overlook her evidence and commentary on rumors, misinterpretations, and their
historical legacies.
Rostopchina’s examination of her grandfather’s role in the 1812 Moscow fires drew on her
grandfather’s writings as well as eyewitness accounts of the event. This episode is unique in the text
because of Rostopchina’s additional reliance on archival materials to document the past.
Rostopchina examined unpublished materials and official documents prepared by her grandfather,
and accessed materials in the Russian Imperial Library, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
archives, and private collections. In addition to these materials, she consulted published
reminiscences. 9 While not trained in historical research methods, her methodology mirrored the