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Order of the White Eagle
White Eagle
also: Белый Орел, Order of the White Eagle
A senior Imperial Russian order of chivalry, originally Polish, awarded to high-ranking officials and nobles -- invoked here as the archetypal glittering prize that will not actually make a miserable life happier.
Reading notes
- From the Notebook of Ivan Ivanych (Thoughts and Notes) §25 the White Eagle
A senior Imperial Russian order of chivalry awarded to high officials and nobles -- one of the glittering, perishable prizes this piece dismisses as no guarantee of happiness.
- A Woman's Happiness §11 Тайный советник, Белого Орла имеет
Taynyy sovetnik (privy councillor) is the 3rd civil rank, near the top of the Table of Ranks; the Order of the White Eagle was likewise among the Empire's most senior civil decorations -- Probkin stacks these highest honors on the general specifically to sharpen the irony of his total submission to his housekeeper.
- Life is Wonderful! §3 the White Eagle
A senior Imperial Russian order of chivalry awarded to high officials and nobles -- one of the empty, perishable prizes the feuilleton mocks as no guarantee of happiness.