Chapter 34 third quarter

Pnin had just rented a small house and invited the Hagans, the Clements, the Thayers, and Betty Bliss to a party he celebrated the move.That very morning, the good Dr. Hagen paid a desperate visit to Braulenghi's office and revealed the whole situation to him, and to him alone.He said to Braulenghi that Ternfuss was a vehement anti-Pnin, and Braulenghi dryly echoed that, as did he himself; ” (It is indeed a strange thing how these practical people tend to feel rather than think) Pnin is not even worthy of strolling around an American university.The loyal Hagen said that Pnin had lectured brilliantly on the Romantic movement for several semesters, and that he would certainly have no problem teaching Chateaubriand and Victor Hugo under the auspices of the French department.

"Dr. Slavsky hired that bunch of writers," Brolengi said. "Sometimes I do think we're overdoing it with literature. You see, this week Miss Mopassuescha starts talking about existentialist writers, your Boudot talks about Romain Rolland, and I'm going to talk about General Boulanger Andy, Berenger's report. No, we've got enough of that." Hagen played his last card and suggested that Pnin could teach French: our friend, like many Russians, had grown up with French nurses and lived in Paris for more than fifteen years after the Revolution. "You mean," asked Braulenghi sternly, "that he speaks French?"

Hagen had always been familiar with Braulenghi's special request, but now he was a little vague. "Say it! Heilmann! Will it or won't it?" "I'm sure he's qualified." "So he does speak French, doesn't he?" "Ok." "In that case," said Braulenghi, "we won't be able to use him in first-grade French because it would be too unfair to our Mr. Just learn one more lesson first. Well, Hashimoto-san happens to need an assistant in Mr. Hashimoto’s full intermediate French class. Is your guy good at reading and speaking French as well?”

"I repeat, he is perfectly qualified." Hagen was a little evasive. "I understand what it means to be qualified," Braulenghi said, frowning. "In 1950, when Hashi left, I hired that Swiss ski instructor to teach French, and he smuggled in some old French anthologies. It took us almost a year to get that class back to its original level. Now, what's that guy's name, if he can't read French . . . " "I think he can read," sighed Hagen. "Then we can't use him. You know, we only trust conversational records and other machinery. No books allowed."

"And advanced French classes," Hagen murmured. "That part was taken care of by Karolina Slavski and myself," Braulenghi replied.