Heart Of A Dog - Blog Posts

tysm for introducing us to Heart of a Dog, its a really good book and its giving us rabies

tysm for introducing us to Heart of a Dog, its a really good book and its giving us rabies

You're welcome! The story is small, something like "A Strange Case..." about 100 pages. I recommend reading the translation by Arvil Pyman. (the meaning of jokes and puns is successfully preserved there)

There is also a Soviet film adaptation of the same name in 1988. (The film is available on YouTube with English subtitles) There is a well-chosen cast of actors.

And I'm drawing the image of Sharikov from this movie, hehe.

https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/B/Bulgakov%20-%20The%20Heart%20of%20a%20Dog.pdf

If you thought that Comrade Sharikov and Mr. Hyde were similar in character and appearance, then... you're right. Read these novels and see for yourself. BUT! Recently, while replaying the plot of both stories in my head, I noticed another similarity. Namely, the division of living space. Damn documents, papers! Without them, there would be no conflict in the stories. 

You can take me for what I am

I was born a wild man, hey!

Don't Crucify Me - Red Elvises

Edward Hyde studies Sharikov's anatomy. I think Edward should get to know his friend's "parents" better. They, as scientists, will have common topics for conversation.

P.S. Hyde's reaction would be the same when analyzing the anatomy of Frankenstein's monster. However, Polygraph Sharikov has a more interesting, special case according to the lore of the book, where you can joke about the penis.

What would Sharikov's reaction to Hyde's whole deal with Dr. Jekyll be? Assuming he's still able to change back in this AU

Sharikov would have had a long stage of denial, that's for sure!

For him, the fact that Jekyll/Hyde is essentially the same as Dr. Bormental or Professor Preobrazhensky, a representative of the bourgeoisie, would be disgusting. And with them, as we know from the book, Sharikov has a very strained relationship. On the other hand, Sharikov would have been unable to understand for a long time why Hyde so vehemently denies Victorian morality, although Hyde often enjoys obvious benefits in the status of a gentleman.

In general, Sharikov considers Jekyll/Hyde to be a coward who cannot give up his past due to habit or benefits. But Edward Hyde is not as annoying "daddy-o" Preobrazhensky, and thanks for that.

Spoiler alert: Hyde is just as much a "true gentleman" as Sharikov is a "true comrade."

And yes, in my AU, Hyde can transform into Jekyll, although he does it reluctantly. He's used to living a long time... decades in the new and eternally young body of Edward Hyde.

I added some "mad scientists" from Mikhail Bulgakov's science fiction novels.

@kusnechik

Was thinking about mad scientists in classic literature and my feelings on them

Feel free to add on if anyone has classic lit mad scientists to share with the class

Do you think that, under different circumstances and expectations of each other (and a lot more compromising), Preobrazhensky and Sharikov could've gotten along?

It sounds like an option for a separate AU or fanfiction. But it seems to me that this is not possible in principle. Personally, I like how tense and comedic their relationship is in the book. And here their main confrontation lies not only in the fact that this is a struggle between the Creator and his Creation, not a struggle between the middle and lower classes, but a struggle between two identical and domineering characters. None of them compromise. So Sharikov teases Preobrazhensky for a reason, calling him humiliatingly "daddy-o" (this is a more correct translation of the word "папаша" into English, I heard this translation in an audiobook). Both of these characters are very stubborn. So I think their ideal relationship is to live separately and preferably as far away as possible.

AND ALSO, WHAT THE HELL IN THE FILM ADAPTATION, THEY SOMETIMES SIT ON THE COUCH IN THE SAME PRETENTIOUS WAY.

Shayfer James - Your Father's Son