On the Road (1845), a short poem by writer Nikolay Nekrasov, is considered a classic of Russian poetry. When it comes to lady-to-maid plots in Victorian-era literature this is probably as best as it gets. Not unlike
"tragic octoroon" stories in the United States around the same time, this is more of a biting comment on class disctinctions, society injustice, and serfdom than anything else,
However, I can't help but think that the inherent eroticism of the main character's social and cultural downfall from a noble lady to a bondmaid was not lost on contemporary readers.
I did not know there was a very good English translation of this poem until I stumbled upon a collection of Nekrasov's work
published by Delphi Classics.
On the Road
'Is this wearisome road without end?
I am sick of the grey desolation!
Sing a song for me, driver, my friend,
Of recruiting, of long separation,
Make my laugh by some legend of old,
Speak of what thou has seen or been told,
Think of something, I pray, to relieve me...'
'I too, sir, am troubled, believe me:
I am cursed with a venomous wife:
It's like this; the first part of her life
She was petted and spoilt by the gentry,
To the barin's own house she had entry;
Why, she lived with the barin's own daughter,
And all manner of learning they taught her,
Such tricks as for nobles are fit:
How to read, play the harp, sew and knit.
And her clothing was not what one sees
On the women and girls of the peasant:
They must deck her in silk, if you please,
And her food was abundant and pleasant:
Milk and honey and kasha, galore,
"Eat your fill, there will always be more..."
And she looked so majestic and grand
That a serf-girl you'd never have thought her -
But a lady of rank in the land,
Why, a marriage a gentleman sought her,
('Twas the coachman who told that to me)
Her happiness, though, was not granted;
"Wed a slave to a noble!" quoth she,
"In your circles such ware is not wanted."
'Well, the barin's young daughter got wed,
And the marriage took place in the city,
Then the barin fell sick, more's the pity,
And on Trinity eve he lay dead.
So protector than Grousha had none,
In a month the new heir showed his hand,
He recounted the serfs one by one,
Re-adjusted the taxes and land,
Then of Grousha bethought him as well,
And what happened there no-one can tell, -
Did she vex the new master or no,
Did it seem to him best she should go,
Did he reckon the manor too small
To house Grousha along with them all....
by Jackie J
Katrin von Loth had started her own business eight
years ago, a one-woman consultancy business based on offering seminars on how
to apply the principles of sexual domination to workplace success and increased
sales. In other words, how to apply the principles of BDSM to business
problems.
My second e-book, Scrubbing His Record Clean: From Manager to Office Cleaner, is finally available from Amazon and Smashwords. I would like to thank Robyn Hoode for providing the editing, as well as for generating a few excellent ideas that made it to the book. While they have very different settings, you'll notice that this story has a lot of themes in common with Her Most Remarkable Performance - namely, social and cultural drop, de-education, new identity, trading places and role swap.