Patriarch's Pond and Circus

                Today we went to the Bulgakov museum, and it was so amazing! I had heard legends, but I had never imagined the walls of the apartment building to be so covered with devotion to Bulgakov. It really instilled in me a greater appreciation of how much the Russians tend to love their writers. I was also somewhat shocked to see tributes to him in English, French, and German. I’m sure there were many more languages there that I missed. Going inside only increased my amazement. My first sight within Bulgakov’s actual apartment was the perfect model of Behemoth (I’ve now officially named this cat “Behemoth the kitty”). He was so cute. I also loved the stories our tour guide told us of Bulgakov’s life there. She related anecdotes that very much humanized (and humorized) the life and ideas of Mikhail Bulgakov, especially during his time writing Master and Margarita. I just loved that it really turned him into more of a person for me. It makes a difference to know that he yelled at his neighbor Annushka for beating her son,  and that the woman next door was a prostitute, and he hated the drunken revelries well known to me on Pascha. Virginia mentioned that she is rather against apocryphal stories being included in a historical setting, but is it really truly historical without that? If you don’t include the life, but only the bare bones of details, it is nothing but an archaeology experiment, and one cannot find a human there.

                I also found Patriarch’s Pond to be a very peaceful setting. It felt like I had finally happened upon the Muscovite version of Georgetown, my single favorite part of DC. The pond could lead you to a very pensive mood, as you sit and watch the swans glide, sipping a latte and reading Kurt Vonnegut (this makes me feel like a hipster elitist. It’s rather sad).

                And finally, the circus. It was a glamorous show that I really enjoyed for the effects, but I will admit that watching it also raised some ethical issues in my mind. Firstly, many of the animals seemed rather miserable and bored. I also wondered about how cruel it is to put these free animals in cages, and so highly train them that they can put on the show that we saw. I differentiate this from eating them- meat is for sustenance, not for entertainment. I somehow feel like this is cheaper and a lot less worthwhile than raising animals for meat, which many others have ethical issues with.

                Some of the glamorous effects of the circus were questionable, as well. I really disliked the fact that they apparently felt it very necessary to include half-naked women dancing around cheetahs, as well as everything else within reach. Does the circus have to be a female attraction, as well as one of skill? It is supposed to represent the unique and unusual, for the entertainment of the masses (which is another entirely separate ethical issue). Do we have to include the degradation and objectivization of the female body? While I enjoyed it, I just felt like it wasn’t a very good form of entertainment, most especially  for children. It encourages making objects out of living animals and women, as well as mocking those with unusual habits and skills. Somehow, that sounds like a societal recipe for disaster to me.