The Fool (Armenian: Խենթը, Khent’ë, Armenian pronunciation: [χɛntʰə]) is an 1880 Armenian-language novel by the Armenian writer Raffi, one of the best-known novels by one of Armenia's greatest novelists.[1] Set during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the plot tells a romance set against the background of the divided Armenian nation.
 | |
| Author | Raffi |
|---|---|
| Original title | Խենթը |
| Translator | Jane S. Wingate |
| Language | Armenian |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Shusha: Mirzajan Mahtesi-Hakobiants (Armenian 1st ed.) Boston: Baikar Press (English 1st. ed) |
Publication date | 1881 |
| Publication place | Russian Empire |
Published in English | 1950 |
| Pages | ii+400 (Armenian 1st ed.) 361 (English 1st ed.) |
| OCLC | 9588669 |
Original text | Խենթը at Armenian Wikisource |
Publication
editThe novel was first serialized in the Tiflis newspaper Mshak in 1880, then published as a separate edition in Shusha in 1881.[2]
Setting and structure
editThe novel is set in three districts near the border between the Russian and Ottoman Empires: Bayazit, Alashkert, and Vagharshapat.
The novel opens with four fast-paced chapters describing the Turkish siege of Bayazit, an historic episode from the last Russo-Turkish war.[3] After a harrowing depiction of the battle, its outcome is left in suspense as chapter five suddenly shifts the focus to an earlier time to tell the story of a village in Alashkert and a romance caught in the treacherous sociopolitical crosscurrents of the war. The succeeding twenty-nine chapters present a rich ethnographic account of country life in this particular region of Western Armenia, while depicting the ideological themes that dominated Armenian life at the time through a set of powerful, competing actors. The novel concludes in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin).
Translations
editThe Fool has been translated into English three times: by Jane Wingate in 1950;[4] by Donald Abcarian in 2000;[5] and by Kimberley McFarlane and Beyon Miloyan in 2020.[6] It has been translated into French,[7] Russian (twice),[8][9] Spanish,[10] and other languages.[2]
References
edit- ^ Ronald Grigor Suny - They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else : A History of the Armenian Genocide - 1400865581 2015 Page 76 "The novels of Raffi, particularly Khent (The Fool) published in 1880, had their loyal readers both in [...]"
- ^ a b Raffi (1962). Erkeri zhoghovatsu Երկերի ժողովածու [Collected works] (in Armenian). Vol. 3. Erevan: Haypethrat. pp. 510–511.
- ^ Report on the Russian army and its campaigns in Turkey in 1877-1878 by F. V. Greene, D. Appleton & Company, New York, 1879, http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000007718525;view=1up;seq=411 p. 385
- ^ Raffi (1950). The Fool: A Novel. Translated by Jane S. Wingate. Boston: Baikar Press. OCLC 9588669.
- ^ Raffi (2000). The Fool: Events from the Last Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Translated by Donald Abcarian. Princeton, New Jersey: Gomidas Institute. ISBN 9780953519187. OCLC 46389781.
- ^ Raffi (2020). The Fool: Adventures during the Last Russo-Turkish War in Armenia. Translated by Kimberley McFarlane and Beyon Miloyan. Sophene Books. ISBN 9781925937404. OCLC 1247366978.
- ^ Raffi (2009). Le fou : conséquences tragiques de la guerre russo-turque de 1877-1878 en Arménie (in French). Translated by Mooshegh Abrahamian. Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule: Bleu autour. ISBN 9782358480055. OCLC 645485107.
- ^ Raffi (1901). Khent Хент (in Russian). Translated by N. M. Kara-Murza. Tiflis: V. D. Korganov.
- ^ Raffi (1978). Khent Хент (in Russian). Translated by S. M. Khitarova. Erevan: Sovetakan grokh. OCLC 8174686.
- ^ Raffi (1968). El visionario (Gent) (in Spanish). Translated by José Moussayán. Buenos Aires: Methopress. OCLC 34963348.
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