When a Teacher and a Student Fall in Love (2): Megerditch and Srpouhi

Vahe H. Apelian

 

Megerditch Beshigtashlian is a Western Armenian poet, playwright and educator. He was born on August 18, 1828 in Constantinople to a poor Catholic family. Tuberculsis seems to have been endemic in the family of meager means. Moushegh Ishkhan considered him as one of the main representatives of the “Romanticist Movement” in Armenian literature and that his literary works influenced upcoming poets. 

After receiving his primary education in the Mekhitarian School in Constantinople he attended Mouradian School in Padua, Italy. He also furthered his studies in Venice. He returned home in1845 and started teaching in the local Armenian Schools. To supplement his income he started giving private lessons tutoring Armenian to children of wealthy Armenian families who were not attending or had not attended Armenian schools. The young driven teacher attempted to instill in his students a love for Armenian literature and history including to a young girl named Srpouhi who hailed from a rich Catholic family whose conversational language at home was French. 

Francophone culture appeared to have captivated the well to do families of the era as a testament of their upper-class upbringing, a trend that was still in force during my days in Lebanon where many Christian Maronite families appeared to be more conversant in French than in Arabic. And those who saw the movie “The Promise” may recall seeing the protagonist’s’ wealthy uncle Mesrob Boghosian, whose palatial house overlooked the Phosphorous Strait, having his daughters tutored by a young Armenian woman who was educated in Sorbonne University and had recently arrived from Paris and thus was merited to tutor the upper class born daughters.

Srpouhi Vahanian was born in 1840 in Constantinople. She also hailed from an Armenian Catholic but an upper-class family and had been schooled in non-Armenian schools as her family’s conversational language was also in French.  In 1863 her parents invited Megerditch Beshigtashlian to tutor their daughter Armenian. After all, Megerditch was also a Catholic and was educated in the Armenian Catholic institution in Constantinople and in Europe. Pretty soon the young spoiled but impressionable student’s tutor discovered a latent literary talents in his pupil and encouraged her to write in Armenian and fell in love with her. Moushegh Ishkhan wrote that Megerditch wrote poems expressing his feelings of sadness and joy, all the while realizing that his love would not come to fruition as they came from way too different social classes.  

Megerditch Beshigtashlian’s young student Srpouhi, in turn, was captivated by her tutor’s intellect and showed much fondness to him. There came a time when the ravages of the tuberculosis confined her tutor to bed. She visited him daily, made sure that he took his medications on time and sat next to his bed and read to him. She was at his beside the day before his premature death. Megerdich Beshigtashlian had wandered in a note he left behind whether it was an apparition that had appeared next to his bed the day before or it was an admirable woman. He passed away on November 29, 1869. He was 40/41 years old.

After his death, Serpouhi wrote a moving poem dedicated to her tutor. The poem was published in the Megerditch Beshigtashlians collected works his friends published posthumously.

Srpouhi Vahanian, was a 30/31 years old mature woman when in 1871 married a Frenchman named Paul Dussab, who was musician. The family was blessed with two children, a daughter named Doreen and a boy named Edgar. Her husband noticed his wife’s innate talent and literary interest. He encouraged and supported her writing in her native language Armenian.

Megerditch Behigtashlian’s talented former pupil Srpuhi Dussab, whom his tutor taught Armenian language and a love for Armenian literature, wrote three novels in Armenian, titled “Mayda” (1883), “Siranoush” (1884), and “Araxia or The (female) Teacher” (1887). Her novels had a feminine theme as she advocated elevating the status of the women.  "Mayda" was translated into English by Nareg Seferian, and was edited by Lisa Gulesserian. Valentina Colzorali has written the introduction of the book.

On this Women’s International Day, it should be noted that Srpuhi Dussab is regarded as the first Armenian female novelist in the Western Armenian literature. Literary critics claim that her literary works influenced future Armenian feminists such as Zabel Yessaian.

Srpuhi Dussab passed away in 1901.  

A stamp issued in honor of Srpouhi Dusssap