Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Oct. 10, 2015)

True to Form

A woman drove me to drink, and I never even had the courtesy to thank her.

… W.C. Fields

German Proverb

The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people.

Armenians in Fiction

Friedrich von Schiller’s only novel, The Ghost-seer, is an experimental, deliberately fragmentary work. Thrillingly held together by its dramatic plot and lavish, operatic setting, it is a multi-layered fiction of deceptive simplicity. For a rich young prince and his loyal companion, Venice promises nothing but unfettered pleasure—until they encounter a mysterious masked Armenian who delivers them a strange prophecy. And when his words prove true, this enigmatic figure develops a deeply sinister influence over them, drawing them into darker forms of “magic.” As the narrative progresses, it becomes increasingly unclear whether the apparitions the prince sees are the manifestations of a troubled spirit world or simply an elaborate hoax.

Biographical note

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright, is considered by most Germans to be Germany’s most important classical playwright. Critics like F.J. Lamport and Eric Auerbach have noted his innovative use of dramatic structure and his creation of new forms, such as the melodrama and the bourgeois tragedy.

During the last 17 years of his life, Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with the already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang Goethe, with whom he frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics and whom he encouraged to finish works he left merely as sketches; this relationship and these discussions led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism.

The Virtues of Idleness

Edig: What must one do to have beautiful hands like yours?

Jannig: Nothing.

What’s in a Name?

Dulgerian: Turkish in derivation, identified as a trade, deulger is defined as carpenter. Variants include Dulgarian/Durgerian/Turgerian.

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CK Garabed

Weekly Columnist

C.K. Garabed (a.k.a. Charles Kasbarian) has been active in the Armenian Church and Armenian community organizations all his life. As a writer and editor, he has been a keen observer of, and outspoken commentator on, political and social matters affecting Armenian Americans. He has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Reporter and the AGBU Literary Quarterly, “ARARAT.” For the last 30 years, Garabed has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly. He produces a weekly column called “Uncle Garabed's Notebook,” in which he presents an assortment of tales, anecdotes, poems, riddles, and trivia; for the past 10 years, each column has contained a deconstruction of an Armenian surname. He believes his greatest accomplishment in life, and his contribution to the Armenian nation, has been the espousing of Aghavni, and the begetting of Antranig and Lucine.

Latest posts by CK Garabed (see all)

• A Reminiscence: John Najarian - February 19, 2020
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Aug. 5, 2017) - August 7, 2017
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (July 22, 2017) - July 22, 2017