institution
Assembly of the Nobility
the Noble Assembly
also: Благородное собрание, Noble Assembly
A grand clubhouse in Moscow and St. Petersburg reserved for the hereditary nobility, famous for its lavish balls and the height of fashionable high society.
Reading notes
- To K. S. Barantsevich, 9 February 1890. Moscow. §6 the Assembly of the Nobility
The Assembly of the Nobility (\emph{Благородное собрание}), a grand clubhouse in Moscow reserved for the hereditary nobility and renowned for its lavish balls -- the venue where Chekhov expects to run into Sablin that evening.
- To the Chekhovs, April 1891. Nice. §4 Picture to yourself the halls of the Assembly of the Nobility, but handsome, tall, and wider still
Chekhov reaches for the grand ballrooms of the Assembly of the Nobility -- the familiar Moscow (and St. Petersburg) clubhouse of high society, famous for its lavish balls -- as the one point of comparison his Russian family could picture, then tops it: the Monte Carlo casino halls are handsomer, taller, and wider still. The simile domesticates an exotic European luxury by measuring it against the most opulent interior his correspondents would already know.
- A Reporter's Dream §7 Assembly of the Nobility
The Noble Assembly (Благородное собрание), a grand clubhouse in Moscow and St. Petersburg reserved for the hereditary nobility, famous for its lavish balls -- the height of fashionable high society the reporter dreams of entering.