Re: Juenger/Pasternak

[Gary Kern <gkern@alumni.Princeton.EDU>]

Ulrich Oswald wrote:
> 
> Gary Kern wrote:
> 
> > Ulrich Oswald wrote:
> > >
> > > Gary,
> > >
> > > I am thinking of a russian expression for désinvolture. What would
> > you
> > > think about nyevovlekanye - "not to get involvedmanship" ?
> > >
> > > Ulrich
> > ********************
> > Wait a minute.  Now I see what you mean:  ne + vovlekanye.  It is
> > Slavic:  non + attraction.  But this would mean "unattractiveness"
> > more
> > than it would mean "unattractedness."
> >
> 
>    *******
> 
> vovlekat' is more than attract. It means "drag in", "engage", "involve",
> in German "verwickeln", even "verleiten".  I like the idea because it
> has the same root (vl., vr.,vk.) as "volvere" or "wickeln", even
> "wrap".  Or take vrashat' - return -. This seems nonsense at first
> glance, but vrashat' is exactly also covered by "volvere".  All some
> kind of a round movement. And, if you are not to be rounded up, I think,
> then you've got désinvolture.
> 
> Ulrich
****************************
Right, I get your point.  The problem, in my mind, is that desinvolture
seems to describe a state of not being involved, disengagement, you
might say, whereas nevovlekanie or (better) nevovlechenie would indicate
a process of not drawing others, not attracting others.  The passive
would be "nevovlechennost'" (the second e being pronounced yow)--this
would exactly indicate the state of not being drawn in, standing apart.

GK