Diary Notes of S. F. Platonov (July 23 — August 14, 1877): “Do Not Condemn This Notebook!”. Part 3

The diary notes made by the young S. Platonov continue to be fi lled with his thoughts and questions emerging in his life and requiring resolution. He actively writes after well–known acquaintances with two sisters, the granddaughters of the famous K. F. Kalaidovich (Evgenia used this surname) and N. S. Selivanovsky. Among the new feelings, previously unknown, there is suff ering, and a little later jealousy. The latter is connected with new acquaintances, primarily with V. N. Berkut. It is him who causes the changes in relations between S. Platonov and E. N. Kalaidovich. And this topic is the main one in this part of the diary note and in the memories close to them but written in the student period two years later. One of the main questions is the diff erence between male and female love. Appealing to the works by Belinsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Turgenev, and the poetry of M. Y. Lermontov, he tries to fi nd answers. This part of the recordings is already diff erent from the previously published ones. Reasoning becomes more and more meaningful, new feelings appear, which is an indicator of both growing up and the spiritual infl uence of new acquaintances.