The Imagery of Kropotkin’s Mother
Kropotkin narrates, “Tall, slim, adorned with a mass of dark chestnut hair, with dark brown eyes and a tiny mouth, she looks quite lifelike in a portrait in oils that was painted con amore by a good artist. Always lively and often careless, she was fond of dancing, and the peasant women in our village would tell us how she would admire from a balcony their ring-dances, — slow and full of grace, — and how finally she would herself join in them.” First, Kropotkin’s mother’s ‘lifelike’ appearance underscores her alluring magnificence. Moreover, she is lively based in her proclivity for dancing, her artistic nature made her to appreciate and partake in the ring dances. Her charisma is evident based on the servant’s adoration of her. If she were a malevolent woman, they would have loathed her. Additionally, the nurses had an outstanding relationship with her based on how they devoted to tending to her sons following her demise.
The Imagery of Easter
Kropotkin expounds, “Easter, in Russia, is the most venerated and also the gayest of the yearly festivals…The last week of the Great Lent, Passion Week, was kept in Moscow, in my childhood, with extreme solemnity; it was a time of general mourning, and crowds of people went to the churches to listen to the impressive reading of those passages of the Gospels which relate the sufferings of the Christ. Not only were meat, eggs, and butter not eaten, but even fish was refused; some of the most rigorous taking no food at all on Good Friday. The more striking was the contrast when Easter came.” The streams offer an impressive ambiance for the commemoration of Easter. Moreover, Easter triggers a religious aura based on pertinent Biblical readings relating to Christ’s passion. Kropotkin’s vivid sketch of Easter affirms that his acquaintance with a predominantly Christian environment where the commemoration of Easter is remarkable.
The Imagery of ‘Crimean War’
Kropotkin recollects, “I well remember the Crimean war…My sister Hèléne and other young ladies sang patriotic songs, but the general tone of life in society was hardly influenced by the great struggle that was going on. In the country, on the contrary, the war caused terrible gloominess. The levies of recruits followed one another rapidly, and we continually heard the peasant women singing their funereal songs.” Besides, Kropotkin mentions the pervasive bandages are emblematic of the wounds which are inevitable during combats. The patriotic singing is not sufficient in ameliorating the effects of the war. Moreover, the selling of ‘lint and bandages' to adversaries is emblematic of the betrayal which is ascribed to the war. The 'funeral songs' elicit a somber mood which is ascribed to expiries of some soldiers. Accordingly, war-time nostalgias are not unequivocally gratifying.
'Amur'
Kropotkin describes, “Only those who have seen the Amúr, or know the Mississippi or the Yang-tze-kiang, can imagine what an immense river the Amúr becomes after it has joined the Sungarí, and can realize what tremendous waves roll over its bed if the weather is stormy. When the rainy season, due to the monsoons, comes in July, the Sungarí, the Usurí, and the Amúr are swollen by unimaginable quantities of water.” Amur is extremely large and harbors large volumes of water. Accordingly, its waves are equally powerful; hence, sailing through the river would not be smooth. Kroptokin expounds on his experience with a typhoon while in the river which emphasizes the immenseness of the river. Omnipresent furious storms and strong winds in the river threatens the sailors; additionally, comparing Amur with other bigger rivers accentuates its colossal size.
