Nadine Eristoff

Overview

Princess Nadine (Nadezhda) Elimiévna Eristoff, a young orphaned princess of the Eristoff family of Poltava, sister of Prince Constantin Eristoff (the lover of Marie's aunt Mme Tutcheff). Marie's brother Paul was in love with her and hoped to marry her in 1877–1879. The Mon Journal t.12 index has «Eristoff (Nadine Elimiévna, princesse) : 99, 150, 152, 182, 208, 220»; of those pages, 99, 182 and 220 are this girl, while 150, 152 and 208 are Marie's aunt Nathalie, Princess Eristoff (PRINCESSE_ERISTOFF), so the index merges the two.

Relevance to Marie

• 082.0202 (27 August 1878): in her letter to Paul about his plan to marry «une demoiselle Patchenko», Marie writes that she understood «les projets concernant Nadine (Eristoff)»: «la mère de la demoiselle était une amie de grand-maman et de nous tous, quoique le père fût un imbécile, et puis la jeune fille est charmante quoique tombée en d'ignobles mains».
• 083.0476 (25 December 1878): among the charges against papa's household: «la petite princesse Eristoff a été élevée avec ses bâtards et patronné par l'actrice française».
• 084.0277 (22 February 1879, Nice): at the charity sale of the square Masséna Paul buys a flower from «la petite Eristoff qui est ici avec Mme Tutcheff et son frère. Paul est amoureux d'elle depuis sa sortie de pension». She had come to Gavronzi two years before and was sent away; «Constantin Eristoff interceptant la lettre fit croire à sa bécasse de sœur qu'on ne la demandait pas en mariage».
• 084.0305 (25 February 1879): «Mme Tutcheff, Mlle et M. Eristoff sont à la tribune»: the carnival incident that leads to Paul's quarrel with her brother.
• 084.0344, 084.0346 (28 February 1879): she writes Paul an insulting letter; Paul's reply calls on «votre titre sacré d'orpheline».

Identification

Her brother is named in 084.0277 («Constantin Eristoff … sa bécasse de sœur»; 0.85). Her patronymic Elimiévna points to a father named Elim; the t.9 index calls Constantin «fils du prince Emile Eristoff», and «Emile» may render Elim, but the same index gives that father to Michel Andryevitch Eristoff (MICHKA_ERISTOFF) as well, whose patronymic does not fit, so the index line is no firm evidence of the family tree (0.5). Both parents were dead by February 1879 (084.0346 «orpheline»; 082.0202 «la mère … était»). Her later life is not known to us.