Two Crocodiles (Fyodor Dostoevksy & Felisberto Hernández)
Article by Mary
Two stories by two masters in another fantastic New Directions Pearl! In Dostoevsky’s “The Crocodile”, a garrulous, upper-class civil servant named Ivan Matveich is swallowed whole by an abused circus crocodile. Fortunately--or unfortunately--Ivan survives, and believes that he, as a result of his ordeal, has gleaned a “superior” philosophy which he deems it his life’s purpose to share with a fascinated public. This brilliant satire is in keeping with Dostoevsky’s trademark criticism of Russian society, but it is done with refreshingly light and funny touch. Hernández’s “The Crocodile” tells the story of a jaded failed pianist who’s trying to make a living selling women’s pantyhose. One day he discovers that he can manipulate people into buying his wares--and later, listening to him play piano--by crying profusely. These crocodile tears provide a brief, knowing glimpse into the morally murky world of success and self-promotion with which any artist can relate.
