Gender and Russian Literature: New Perspectives (Cambridge Studies in Russian Literature)

Originally published in 1996, this collection of fascinating essays by leading western and Russian specialists gives an overview of key issues in Russian women's writing and of important representations of women by men, between 1600 and the present. This volume contributes to the contemporary feminist project of rediscovering many hitherto unjustly neglected Russian women writers and sheds further light on the literary construction of women's identity by Russian men. It combines a study of the history and biography of women writers with close readings of literary texts, and explores certain controversial issues in Russian women's literary studies such as whether there is a separate women's literary tradition in Russia, whether the treatment of the woman question by Russian male writers reflected women's interests and experience, and whether a feminist reinterpretation of Russian women's literature is possible or even desirable. This collection of essays gives an overview of key issues in Russian women's writing and of important representations of women by men, between 1600 and the present, exploring the differences between the writing of women and men in Russia. It combines a study of the history and biography of previously neglected women writers with close readings of literary texts, demonstrating that the work of many Russian writers contains much of interest for contemporary women readers. (First published in 1996.) Contents: 1 - Introduction: new perspectives on women and gender in Russian literature / Rosalind Marsh; Part I: Historical and biographical perspectives; 2 - Women in seventeenth-century Russian literature / Rosalind McKenzie; 3 - Conflicts over gender and status in early nineteenth-century Russian literature: the case of Anna Bunina and her poem 'Padenie Faetona' / Wendy Rosslyn; 4 - Reading the future: women and fortune-telling in Russia (1770-1840) / Faith Wigzell; 5 - Russian women writers of the nineteenth century / Ol'ga Demidova; 6 - The 'woman question' of the 1860s, and the ambiguity of the 'learned woman' / Arja Rosenholm; 7 - Carving out a career: women prose writers, 1885-1917, the biographical background / Charlotte Rosenthal; 8 - The fate of women writers in literature at the beginning of the twentieth century: 'A. Mirè', Anna Mar, Lidiia Zinov'eva-Annibal / Mariia Mikhailova; 9 - Lidiia Zinov'eva-Annibal's The Singing Ass: a woman's view of men and Eros / Pamela Davidson; 10 - Anastasiia Verbitskaia reconsidered / Rosalind Marsh; 11 - Soviet woman of the 1980s: self-portrait in poetry / Elena Trofimova; Part II: The perspective of literary criticism; 12. - The silence of rebellion: women in the work of Leonid Andreev / Eva Buchwald; 13 - Poor Liza: the sexual politics of Elizaveta Bam by Daniil Kharms / Graham Roberts; 14 - The crafting of a self: Lidiia Ginzburg's early journal / Jane Gary Harris; 15 - Voyeurism and ventriloquism: Aleksandr Velichanskii's Podzemnaia nimfa / Gerald S. Smith; 16 - Thinking self in the poetry of Ol'ga Sedakova / Stephanie Sandler; 17 - Women's space and women's place in contemporary Russian fiction / Helena Goscilo Frontmatter......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 Notes on contributors......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 16 1 - Introduction: new perspectives on women and gender in Russian literature......Page 17 PART I - HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVES......Page 55 2 - Women in seventeenth-century Russian literature......Page 57 3 - Conflicts over gender and status in early nineteenth-century Russian literature: the case of Anna Bunina and her poem Padenie Faetona......Page 71 4 - Reading the future: women and fortune-telling in Russia (1770--1840)......Page 91 5 - Russian women writers of the nineteenth century......Page 108 6 - The `woman question' of the 1860s, and the ambiguity of the `learned woman'......Page 128 7 - Carving out a career: women prose writers, 1885--1917, the biographical background......Page 145 8 - The fate of women writers in literature at the beginning of the twentieth century: `A. Mirè', Anna Mar, Lidiia Zinov[PRIME]eva-Annibal......Page 157 9 - Lidiia Zinov[PRIME]eva-Annibal's The Singing Ass: a woman's view of men and Eros......Page 171 10 - Anastasiia Verbitskaia reconsidered......Page 200 11 - Soviet woman of the 1980s: self-portrait in poetry......Page 222 PART II - THE PERSPECTIVE OF LITERARY CRITICISM......Page 243 12 - The silence of rebellion: women in the work of Leonid Andreev......Page 245 13 - Poor Liza: the sexual politics of Elizaveta Bam by Daniil Kharms......Page 260 14 - The crafting of a self: Lidiia Ginzburg's early journal......Page 279 15 - Voyeurism and ventriloquism: Aleksandr Velichanskii's Podzemnaia nimfa......Page 299 16 - Thinking self in the poetry of Ol[PRIME]ga Sedakova......Page 318 17 - Women's space and women's place in contemporary Russian fiction......Page 342 Index......Page 364 CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE......Page 370

This collection of original essays by leading Western and Russian specialists gives an overview of key issues in Russian women's writing and of important representations of women by men, between 1600 and the present, exploring the differences between the writing of women and men in Russia. It combines a study of the history and biography of previously neglected women writers with close readings of literary texts, demonstrating that although many Russian women writers have been unjustly disadvantaged and marginalized, their work contains much of interest for contemporary women readers.

This wide-ranging study presents an examination of the extraordinary diversity and range of satirical writing in contemporary Russian literature and will be of interest not only to Slavists but also to those interested in genre theory. The author focuses on a variety of these genres and modes and offers practical criticism on each text. This 1996 collection of fascinating essays by leading western and Russian specialists gives an overview of key issues in Russian women's writing and of important representations of women by men, between 1600 and the present, exploring the differences between the writing of women and men in Russia. This selection of essays provides an overview of key issues in Russian women's writing and of important representations of women by men, between 1600 and the present.