person
Court Councillor Anafemsky
Anafemsky
also: Анафемский, надворный советник Анафемский
A court councillor in "About Women" whose invented surname puns on "anathema" (анафема); held up, along with the watchman Dorofei, as an example of a man whose pronouncements on Bismarck or the sciences are a pleasure to hear -- in pointed, ironic contrast to a wife's supposedly illogical talk of children or a husband's drinking.
Reading notes
- From the Notebook of Ivan Ivanych (Thoughts and Notes) §7 Court Councillor Anafemsky
Nadvorny sovetnik, a solid mid-level rank two grades above Titular Councillor Slyunkin's. "Anafemsky" puns on анафема, anathema -- a mock-solemn surname for a minor official whose talk is (backhandedly) praised as agreeable.
- About Women §5 court councillor
Nadvorny sovetnik, the seventh of fourteen ranks -- solidly mid-level, a step above Slyunkin's titular councillor -- reinforcing that both foolish male authorities on Bismarck, high and low ranked alike, are praised merely for being men.