184
PARTISAN REVIEW
vich. My Polinka has gone completely wild. She's jealous of my ser–
vice, do you understand?" (Gesha pronounced it "un-stan.") "'I'm
lonesome,' she says. And 1 really do love her, that Polinka. She's my
beloved, un-stan? She's captured my heart, un-stan?"
"Again, parasite words," Khuriev shouted. "Be more careful!"
Lebedyeva, her back to us, was freshening her lipstick.
"Break!" the P.I. announced. "That's enough for today."
"Too bad," Gesha said .
"I
was just starting to get inspired."
"Let's sum up ." Khuriev pulled out a notepad . "Lenin more or
less resembles a human being. Timofey gets a B - . Polina is better
than
1
thought she'd be, to be honest. As for Dzerzhinsky- uncon–
vincing. Manifestly unconvincing. Remember, Dzerzhinsky is the
conscience of the Revolution . A knight without fear or blemish. But
the way you do him, he looks like some kind of recidivist."
"I'll try to do better," Tsurikov assured him indifferently.
"Do you know what Stanislavsky said?" Khuriev continued.
"Stanislavsky would say,
'I
don't believe it!'
If
an actor read a line in
a phony way, Stanislavsky would stop the rehearsal and say,
'I
don't
believe it!'"
"Like the cops," Tsurikov said.
"What?" The P.I. didn't understand.
"The cops,
1
said, give you the same line.
'I
don't believe it,
1
don't believe it. .. .' They nabbed me once in Rostov, and the in–
vestigator was a real pig -"
"Don't forget yourselfl" the P.I. shouted .
"Especially with the weaker sex present," Gurin said .
"I'm an officer in the Regular Army," Khuriev said, raising his
VOlce.
"I wasn't talking about you," Gurin said. "I meant Lebedyeva."
"Ah-h," Khuriev said. Then he turned to me. "Next time, be
more active. Prepare your remarks. You're a person who's cultured,
educated. And now you're all dismissed. We meet again on Wednes–
day. What's the matter with you, Lebedyeva?"
Tamara was quivering with little sobs, wringing her handker-
chief.
"What is it?" Khuriev asked.
"I'm feeling it so deeply . . . ."
"Excellent. That's what Stanislavsky called 'transformation.'"
We said goodbye and we separated. 1 walked with Gurin to the
sixth barrack. We were going the same way.
By this time, it had grown dark. The path was lighted by yel-
