The Outcast (Pushkin)
Division into sections is editorial.
A mothers secret journey on a rainy autumn evening
On a rainy autumn evening, a young woman ventured into the desolate wilderness, carrying in her trembling hands the secret fruit of an unhappy love. The night was still and dark, with hills and woods asleep in silence. Terror gripped her heart as she cast searching glances about, her eyes filled with fear and desperation.
She paused to gaze upon the infant sleeping peacefully in her arms, unaware of the tragedy unfolding. With a deep sigh, she addressed the child, acknowledging that he slept without knowledge of her profound sadness. She knew that when his eyes opened with longing, he would no longer cling to her breast, and tomorrow would bring no kiss from his unhappy mother.
Asleep thou art, my child, my grief.
Thou knowest not my sadness.
Thine eyes will ope, and tho' with longing,
To my breast shalt no more cling.
The mother understood that the child would beckon for her in vain, for he was her everlasting shame and guilt.
Foretelling the childs lonely and sorrowful future
The mother spoke of the bitter fate awaiting her child. She knew that he would forget her forever, though she herself would never forget him. The infant would receive shelter from strangers who would declare that he was none of theirs. When he asked where his parents were, no kin would be found for him.
Shelter thou shalt receive from strangers,
Who 'll say: Thou art none of ours!
Thou wilt ask, Where are my parents?
But for thee no kin is found!
She foresaw a life of misery for the hapless child. With a heart filled with sorrow, he would stand lonely amid his companions, his spirit sullen to the end as he beheld other children with their fondling mothers. He would become a lonely wanderer everywhere, cursing his fate at all times and hearing bitter reproach from those around him. In anguish, she begged for his forgiveness.
A lonely wanderer everywhere
Cursing thy fate at all times,
Thou the bitter reproach shalt hear....
Forgive me, oh, forgive me then!
As the sleeping child lay in her arms, the mother pressed him to her bosom one final time. She reflected on the unjust and terrible law that doomed both of them to sorrow. While the years had not yet chased away the guiltless joy of his days, she wished for him to sleep peacefully, praying that no bitter griefs would mar his childhood's quiet life. She hoped that in his innocence, he might find some measure of peace before the harsh realities of his existence became known to him.
The final embrace and abandonment at the strangers door
Behind the woods nearby, the moon illuminated a solitary hut. Forlorn, pale, and trembling with fear and resolution, the mother approached the dwelling. Her steps were hesitant as she drew near to the doors of this strange place where she would leave her most precious burden. The weight of her decision pressed heavily upon her heart, yet she knew there was no other choice available to her in her desperate circumstances.
When she reached the threshold, she stooped down with trembling hands. Gently, with infinite care and sorrow, she laid the sleeping babe on the strange threshold. The child remained peacefully asleep, unaware that this moment marked the end of his time with his mother and the beginning of his life as an outcast among strangers.
She stooped and gently laid she down
The babe on the threshold strange.
In terror away her eyes she turned
And in the dark night disappeared.
Unable to bear the sight of what she had done, the mother turned her eyes away in terror. The darkness of the night enveloped her as she fled from the scene, disappearing into the shadows. She left behind the innocent child who would grow up never knowing his mother's love, forever marked by the circumstances of his birth. The poem ended with this image of abandonment, capturing the tragedy of a mother forced by social judgment to give up her child, and the cruel fate awaiting an innocent babe condemned to live as an outcast through no fault of his own.