The Sofia Tolstoy diaries are not as hard going as I first imagined they would be: quite fascinating in fact although, as I said before, full of that old Russian soul. “My God, how often I long to abandon it all and take my life. I am so tired of struggling and suffering. I can’t do what my husband wants (so he says) without breaking all the practical and emotional chains that have bound me to my family. Day and night I think only of how to leave this house, leave this cruelty, leave all the excessive demands on me. I have grown to love the dark.” Haven’t come across any balalaikas, vodka, or caviar or mention of the Volga but interesting aspects of nineteenth century Russia and the Tolstoy family, particularly himself who seems to have been a bit of a monster with the weirdest of ideas including giving away all his royalties when Sofia desperately needed the money for her children. The fact that the Tolstoys were minor nobility with vast estates did not necessarily mean they were rich or even comfortably off. It was for Sofia quite a struggle looking after nine kids, the estates, and an errant husband who seemed to exist in another country entirely. Interesting too the way the estates were divided up amongst the kids, for two of them by actually tossing a coin as to who would have what! I was also fascinated by her meeting with the Tsar (Alexander 111 not Nicholas) to plead for her husband’s work not to be banned by the censor. He also (Tolstoy not Alexander) came under fire from certain priests who considered him to be quite beyond the pail with his religious dabbling and babbling. I would have thought he should have stuck to fiction but, when you come to think of it, religion is fiction anyway.
Three days to Christmas. It looks as if our poor Douglas will still be in hospital as he is now suffering all the horrid after effects of his treatment. It will really be just another day both for him and us, and all we can hope is that he doesn’t suffer too much pain.
Another soppy letter in The Athens news from Paul Kokoski of Ontario, Canada, full of baby Jesus and the voice of angels. This Kokoski person appears quite often in the letters page of the paper, always ranting on about Christianity. The letter this time is about commercialising Christmas which we all know about anyway. He really is a great proselytiser. A pity his theology and style is so wishy-washy. What a bore.
In Athens the star attraction is the environmentally friendly Christmas tree in Syntagma Square created from 250 natural fir trees which will be watered daily and later transplanted to some of Attica’s fire-ravaged regions.
Finally, here is a Tolstoy Christmas: 24th December 1890. “We had a cheerful dinner and afterwards Lyovochka (Tolstoy) read the Bible, much of which made me laugh. (I wonder what Mister Kokoski would make of that). I cut out cardboard puppets for the children’s play I am putting on – what foolishness.
25th December: Christmas day. Everyone has been in festive mood all day and I have been busy decorating the Christmas tree. Lyova (a son) and Lyovochka started a heated discussion over morning coffee about happiness and the meaning of life. We had a cheerful party around the Christmas tree to which about eighty peasant children came; we gave them a wonderful time, and our children enjoyed themselves too.”