"Passion is unending intoxication,.."
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As I read “Malinovka Heights “ by Ivan Goncharov, which I highly recommend, today’s passage caught my attention. The one clause in this passage that I found particularly disturbing was, “…..the blows struck by a cherished hand..” However, I had to remember two thing: first, the novel was written in the early 19th century, and second, the true meaning of the clause might have been distorted in its translation from Russian to English.
“Malinovka Heights”
“ Passion is unending intoxication, without the undignified consequences of drunkenness,” he went on. “ There are always flowers underfoot. Before you stands an idol to which you want to pray, for which you would give your life. Stones may be weighing down your head, but in the throes of passion, you feel that you are being pelted by roses, you will take the grinding of the teeth for music, the blows struck by a cherished hand will feel gentler than a mother’s caress. Worries, life’s troubles, all vanish —-your life becomes one endless triumph, nothing but happiness looks upon you like this ( he moved closer to her), and takes you by the hand (he took her hand) and your whole being thrills to the touch of fire and strength..”