Title: Sadakalika Swami Purushaya
Author: Senarathna Weerasinghe
Publisher: Prabha Publishers, Veyangoda
Senarathna Weerasinghe’s latest book Sadakalika Swami Purushaya is the first Sinhala translation of the eminent Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Eternal Husband. When the novel was originally published in 1870, it was hailed as “a small masterpiece” by critics.
The Eternal Husband is perhaps the most accomplished novel written by Dostoevsky. Senarathna Weerasinghe would have faced a daunting task when he decided to translate the novel which is a fine portrayal of the human psyche in its disoriented state.
Sadakalika Swami Purushaya comes with a straightforward but unusual plot. The protagonist – Pavel Trusotsky – goes to Petersburg to meet his dead wife’s living lovers. He had been a friend of Aleksei Velchaninov. Aleksei vividly describes the paranoid state of Trusotsky.
Hostile husband
One day, Trusotsky goes to Aleksei’s apartment. Aleksei comes to know that Natalya – Trusotsky’s wife – had a daughter named Liza. He thinks that Liza is his daughter and tries to take her away. In fact, he wants to liberate her from the clutches of a hostile husband. Some of the complications that follow are both tragic and comic. Aleksei calls Trusotsky an eternal husband because he is not bothered about his wife’s infidelity.
Events come to a head when the two men stand facing each other. They had been friends long ago, but Aleksei’s relationship with Natalya is a case in point. He wants to know who Liza’s real father is.
This usually happens when a married woman gets involved with another man. Today, there are scientific ways to find the biological father, but they were not available when the novel was written.
The translator has vividly brought out the psychological game of cat and mouse that is going on in the story. At times, the novel reads like an absurdist farce. At other times, it has certain elements of a detective novel. The main reason for this strange situation is that both men are highly strung characters who dance around trying to outsmart each other.
Inconsistent characters
The Sinhala version of the novel has successfully brought to life Dostoevsky’s portrayal of two inconsistent characters. It appears that both of them are haunted by past memories and feverish dreams. The reader might come to the conclusion that both of them are tragic heroes. However, Dostoevsky seems to consider them as comic characters.
At a certain point, Trusotsky raves deliriously to Aleksei about how much he admired him. In a tense moment, Aleksei kisses Trusotsky’s hand and later he demands Aleksei to kiss him back which he does on the lips.
After reading the novel, you might think that human life is more a comedy than a tragedy.
Dostoevsky’s The Eternal Husband originally published in the latter part of the 19th century is no longer available at bookshops. Senarathna Weerasinghe’s Sinhala translation Sadakalika Swami Purushaya fills the void making the novel available to a wide group of readers.
