How many of our contemporaries are pondering the question of whether a porphyry widow is what?
We think that few. Meanwhile, once our compatriots ancestors well understood the meaning of this expression.
Let’s try and we will understand what a porphyry widow means.
The linguistic meaning of the concept
In two explanatory dictionaries devoted to the study of the Russian language, one can find the expression "porphyric, porphyric."
In particular, the dictionary edited by the remarkable philologist D.N. Ushakova tells us that the word "porphyric" is obsolete. It denotes a person dressed in porphyry, that is, endowed with royal status and grandeur.
A new dictionary published by T.F. agrees with this position. Efremov. This dictionary defines the adjective "porphyric" as a synonym for the adjective "regal."
Expression and its use in Russian fiction
If one wonders what a porphyron-like widow means and how often this expression sounds in literature, one can find out the following: in the scientific community, the authors note that the adjective “porphyry-bearing” is not so often used in Russian classical literature.
In fact, there are three main ways to use this adjective: the porphyron-bearing king, the porphyry-bearing parent, and the porphyry-bearing widow.
We will consider the third option in more detail.
Porfirony widow - what is it from the point of view of vocabulary
From the point of view of the lexical meaning, this expression means a female person who was once the spouse of the emperor and wore a high title with him (that is, she was dressed in porphyry). However, as a result of the death of the emperor (king, king, etc.), this person became a widow.
Thus, her position is ambivalent: on the one hand, this lady has a high status in society, but on the other hand, along with the death of her husband, she lost part of her power.
In fact, this expression froze in the language and became phraseological unit, meaning a person who in the past was at a higher level of social respect, and now, having outwardly maintained his former status, he is in the shadows.
Pushkin's work and the glory of old Moscow
For many centuries, the expression "porphyric widow" has survived, the meaning of this phrase is directly related to the name of Moscow.
The fact is that the great Pushkin wrote in one of his works, examining the new capital of Russia - St. Petersburg, created by Peter the Great, and old Moscow: "And before the younger capital the old Moscow was darkened, as before the new queen the porphyric widow."
This beautiful expression has long been remembered by the contemporaries of the poet and his descendants. Strict and majestic Moscow really looked like the widow of the great king, who is held in high esteem, but in some oblivion. At the same time, this expression did not offend Muscovites at all, who considered respect for their ancient and great city in these lines.
Residents of the capital city of Petersburg found that the poet very successfully compared the two capitals of then-Russian Russia.
The poem survived Pushkin and is now known to any student. Therefore, if you ask the children: "Porfironnosnaya widow - what is it?", They will answer you that this is the city of Moscow.
True, not everyone will remember that these are lines from the poem The Bronze Horseman, but still they will not forget Pushkin’s authorship.
How many porphyric widows were there in Russia?
By the way, in the era of monarchism, the expression "porphyry widow" - the meaning was quite significant. Although widowhood in Russia was considered a heavy burden.
The first woman who became a porphyry widow in Russia is considered to be Empress Catherine - the wife of Peter the Great. It was Catherine after the death of her husband and became empress. True, her reign did not last long.
Her namesake, the famous Russian Empress Catherine the Great, did not want to be a porphyric widow. After the death of her husband, Catherine refused the title of regent with her young son and began to rule herself (her son was waiting for his rightful throne for about 33 years).
In the 19th century, it was an honor to be a porphyric widow, but this had little effect on state affairs. So, although the mother of Emperor Alexander tried to intervene from time to time in the affairs of the government of the country, he did not succeed in this field much.
Alexandra Fedorovna, wife of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, very briefly outlived her husband.
But the wife of the emperor Alexander Alexandrovich - Maria Fedorovna - lived in the role of a porphyry widow for many years, right up to the terrible 1917 for Russia. This woman became the last dowager empress in our country.
Her fate was sad: Maria Fedorovna survived not only her son George, who died of tuberculosis in tsarist Russia, but also the whole family of his beloved Nika (Emperor Nicholas) and his son Mikhail, who became the Russian tsar for two days, abandoned the throne and subsequently executed by the Bolsheviks .
Thus, now the question of whether or not a porphyric widow is what we should arise. This beautiful concept is becoming a thing of the past for many reasons: the state administration system has changed, and the inheritance system itself has changed. Marriage and widowhood is no longer the leading social indicator for women in our society. Now there are completely different landmarks.