Pacha (Paul Gorpintchenko)
Also known as: Pacha, Paul Gorpintchenko, Gorpintchenko, le gros Pacha
Pacha (Paul Gorpintchenko)
"Pacha" is the Russian pet name (diminutive of Pavel/Paul) of Paul Gorpintchenko, a young man of the Poltava/Kharkov circle of Marie's father's family. Marie meets him on arrival in Russia in August 1876 ("Paul Gorpintchenko", 065/1876-08-20: "solid, serious Russian type", a decade-old acquaintance) and, with Michel Eristoff, he is her devoted, silent, hand-kissing admirer through the stay at Gavronzi; his mother is Mme Gorpintchenko (Elena Pavlovna), see #Mme Gorpintchenko. Marie calls him "ce gros paysan aux grands sentiments" (1878) and, in 1881, "le gros Pacha, mon ancien amoureux". His sister is married to Sperandio (#Sperandio). In the diary he is always "Pacha" (never "Paul", which is Marie's brother): keep the name Pacha in translation.
Diary references
Not to be confused with
Most of this glossary was researched with the help of AI language models and checked against the sources cited; mistakes are possible. If you spot one, please report it with the button at the top of the page.