Information about the author:

Abstract: 

This article examines one aspect of Marina Tsvetaeva’s reception of the work of the Austrian poet and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It examines how the image of Giacomo Casanova, largely perceived by Tsvetaeva through Hofmannsthal, namely through his play “The Adventurer and the Singer” (1898), based on an episode from Casanova’s memoirs, evolves in her notebooks and plays “The Adventure” and “Phoenix” (1919). It is shown how these changes are connected, on the one hand, with Tsvetaeva’s conception of Romanticism as a timeless phenomenon, the realm of the Soul, and on the other, with her ideal of androgyny (which is also associated with the denial of the flesh, with an elevation above earthly certainties and planes). A hypothesis is put forward as to why Hofmannsthal’s second play, based on Casanova’s memoirs — the comedy “Christina’s Journey Home” (1910) — did not interest Tsvetaeva. It is concluded that the borrowed elements are somehow elevated, greatly enhanced, and romanticized by Tsvetaeva compared to how they were presented in Hofmannsthal.

Keywords: G. Casanova, H. von Hofmannsthal, M. Tsvetaeva, masculinity, androgyny, creative reception, “The Adventurer and the Singer”, “The Adventure”, “Phoenix”.