Haunted Empire: Gothic and the Russian Imperial Uncanny (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies)

Haunted Empire shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity. Valeria Sobol argues that the persistent presence of Gothic tropes in the literature of the Russian Empire is a key literary form that enacts deep historical and cultural tensions arising from Russia's idiosyncratic imperial experience. Her book brings together theories of empire and colonialism with close readings of canonical and less-studied literary texts as she explores how Gothic horror arises from the threatening ambiguity of Russia's own past and present, producing the effect Sobol terms "the imperial uncanny." Focusing on two spaces of the imperial uncanny—the Baltic north/Finland and the Ukrainian south— Haunted Empire reconstructs a powerful discursive tradition that reveals the mechanisms of the Russian imperial imagination that are still at work today.

Haunted Empire shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity.

Valeria Sobol argues that the persistent presence of Gothic tropes in the literature of the Russian Empire is a key literary form that enacts deep historical and cultural tensions arising from Russia's idiosyncratic imperial experience. Her book brings together theories of empire and colonialism with close readings of canonical and less-studied literary texts as she explores how Gothic horror arises from the threatening ambiguity of Russia's own past and present, producing the effect Sobol terms "the imperial uncanny." Focusing on two spaces of the imperial uncanny—the Baltic north/Finland and the Ukrainian south— Haunted Empire reconstructs a powerful discursive tradition that reveals the mechanisms of the Russian imperial imagination that are still at work today.

This book shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity. The book argues that the persistent Gothic tropes in the literature of the Russian Empire enact deep historical and cultural tensions arising from Russia's idiosyncratic imperial experience. It brings together theories of empire and colonialism with close readings of canonical and less-studied literary texts as the book explores how Gothic horror arises from the threatening ambiguity of Russia's own past and present, producing the effect Sobol terms “the imperial uncanny.” Focusing on two spaces of “the imperial uncanny” — the Baltic “North”/Finland and the Ukrainian “South” — the book reconstructs a powerful discursive tradition that reveals the mechanisms of the Russian imperial imagination that are still at work today. This text shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity. The book argues that the persistent Gothic tropes in the literature of the Russian Empire enact deep historical and cultural tensions arising from Russia's idiosyncratic imperial experience. It brings together theories of empire and colonialism with close readings of canonical and less-studied literary texts as the book explores how Gothic horror arises from the threatening ambiguity of Russia's own past and present, producing the effect Sobol terms 'the imperial uncanny.' Focusing on two spaces of 'the imperial uncanny' - the Baltic 'North'/Finland and the Ukrainian 'South' - the book reconstructs a powerful discursive tradition that reveals the mechanisms of the Russian imperial imagination that are still at work today HAUNTED EMPIRE 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Note on Transliteration and Translation 12 Introduction. From the Island of Bornholm to Taman′: The Literary Trajectory of the Russian Imperial Uncanny 16 Part I: The North 40 1. A Gothic Prelude: Nikolai Karamzin’s “The Island of Bornholm” 42 2. In Search of the Russian Middle Ages: The Livonian Tales of the 1820s 51 3. “Gloomy Finland” and Russian Gothic Tales of Assimilation 67 Part II: The South 94 4 . Ukraine: Russia’s Uncanny Double 96 5. On Mimicry and Ukrainians: Empire and the Gothic in Antonii Pogorel′sky’s The Convent Graduate 109 6. ’Tis Eighty Years Since: Panteleimon Kulish’s Gothic Ukraine 124 Afterword 150 Notes 154 Works Cited 192 Index 206 "This book shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature (the themes of horror, medieval barbarity, darkness, and transgression) frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity"-- Provided by publisher