In
Search of the Blessed One: Vasily Perov and the Russian Populist Movement
(Craig Meister)
Blessed One (1875-1879) by Vasily Perov (1834-1882) is a striking painting
of a peasant man who is both captivating and repellent. But the man portrayed
is not just some random vagrant. Rather, he personifies the latest incarnation
of the classic Russian character, the Holy Fool. Holy Fools have occupied
a unique place in the Russian consciousness since the fourteenth century.
All Holy Fools were “fools for the sake of Christ,” submitting to all
sorts of physical deprivations in order to promote and advance the will
of God. Why did Perov, a founding member of the collective of Russian
artists known as the Wanderers, choose a Holy Fool as the subject of his
painting? Why did Perov choose to paint a Holy Fool at this time? What
does the painting mean?
I argue that an analysis of Perov’s Blessed One is not complete without
understanding the socio-cultural and intellectual environment in which
it was produced. The freeing of the serfs and growing size and assertiveness
of Russia’s young intelligentsia characterized mid- and late nineteenth
century Russian society. I will detail why Russia’s young intellectual
class became so fixated on an idealized view of the newly free Russian
peasantry. Was this obsession based on guilt alone? Or was it based on
a passion not only to bring art to the Russian people, but also to represent
the Russian people in art? The reemergence of the Holy Fool in both art
and literature during this time was no coincidence (examples include Dostoevsky’s
Idiot, Surikov’s Boyarina Morozova, Mussorgfsky’s Boris Godunov). In fact,
it was directly related to the Russian intelligentsia’s rediscovery of
long-neglected aspects of Russian culture after years of Western influence
on Russian high society. On the heels of social reform, Russia’s young,
urban, educated elite became increasingly interested in “going to the
people” of the countryside for creative inspiration.
With the history of Russia and the Holy Fool in mind, I will re-examine
Perov’s Blessed One and in the process gain a new perspective and added
appreciation for Perov’s subtlety and message.
Milos Forman’s Loves of a Blonde
- Dreaming in the Face of Socialism
(Elena Poiata)
This paper analyzes Milos Forman’s use of an intimate story of search
for love, of seduction and disappointment - to convey the drama of the
individual striving toward personal happiness in a socialist society where
he/she is denied this fundamental right. He uses the individual to scope
and reveal the issues and flaws of an entire society at a specific point
in history.
A close reading of key scenes in the film is used to discuss its message
and the symbols used to convey it. Although Forman’s camera is very kind
to the characters and does not judge any of them, subtle images weave
a vivid portrait of socialist Czechoslovakia. For example, the lack of
personal space, so poignant throughout the film, illustrates the position
of the characters in society and the essence of this society – the cancellation
of the individual as an entity and his transformation into a mere economic
agent. The protagonists of the film are denied all the joys of youth -
from consumer goods, to love, and the chance to create a family, by being
constrained to small factory towns where women constitute ninety percent
of the population.
In addition, Forman’s technique is analyzed both in the light of its cinematic
influences: Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave – influential currents
at the time Loves of a Blonde was made, and its importance in shaping
the personal style of the director. This film foreshadows the graceful
and tender realism with which Forman will introduce his audience to characters
apparently common, yet so alive in his future films. These characters
almost invariably have to face a society/environment that undermines their
rights and aspirations – be it Andula of Loves of a Blonde, Randle McMurphy
in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or Mozart in Amadeus.
Thus Loves of a Blonde sets the stage for the artist Forman would become
and stands as a film of great sensitivity and mastery that subtly describes
the drama of an individual and the drama of socialist society as a whole.
The
Post-Communist Revolution: Peace, Land, Bread … and GDP Growth?
(Irene Ayzenberg)
Regime changes across the world have spurred a global debate among both
policymakers and academics about the proper role of government; particularly
relevant to this discussion is the dispute concerning the relationship
between democracy and economic development. The emphasis on growth, however,
has engendered a common flaw in transition strategies—growth was often
pursued at the expense of true human needs. Today, while controversy surrounding
the relationship between economic growth and democracy endures, the important
link between human development and democracy has been understudied. This
relationship is explored in this paper.
The following study triangulates two sets of methods: 1) an empirical
evaluation of all post-communist regimes, including those of the Former
Soviet Union, on the extent of democratization, the level of economic
growth, and the degree of human development; and 2) a variation-finding
comparative examination of Poland and the Czech Republic as two revealing
cases that, although often grouped together as success stories of post-communist
transition, have quite different forms of democracy. This analysis shows
that while a state’s democratic character alone cannot guarantee GDP growth,
democracy is a necessary component of overall human development. Moreover,
the degree of government responsiveness is significant—only sufficiently
representative systems can effectively advance broad developmental goals.
This is why, despite better growth levels in Poland, the more responsive
government of the Czech Republic achieved a higher degree of human development.
Not surprisingly, to this day Czechs exhibit greater public confidence
in the core institutions of a liberal capitalist democracy than the Poles.
Thus, the quality of democracy in the Czech Republic is better, and because
democracy has both an intrinsic and an instrumental role in promoting
human development, the representative democracy of the Czech Republic
and their socially conscious policies reinforce each other to successfully
meet comprehensive developmental goals.
Forgery
of Style in Tolstoy’s Forged Coupon
(Julia Rubalevskaya)
This paper seeks to explain the ineffectiveness of the moral conversions
in Tolstoy’s novella The Forged Coupon by comparing the style in which they
are written to Tolstoy’s criteria for good art, as they are laid out in
his treatise What Is Art?. It is here proposed that the religious revelations
are unconvincing to the reader because they are a rationalistic appeal that
runs counter to Tolstoy’s theory of art as infection and, as such, leave
the reader untouched and skeptical.
By examining the moral fall and subsequent conversion of each of the twenty-four
characters in The Forged Coupon, it is evident that the falls are more realistically
portrayed and, as such, more compelling. Yet this runs directly counter
to the intention of the story which, as one of Tolstoy’s latest works, is
didactic and moralistic. It is proposed that this is because the falls are
written in a contemporary, 19th century style, whereas the conversions are
written in an archaic, instructional style. The archaic style, having originally
been intended as a moral manual to the masses, was meant as an appeal to
their reason. However, in his treatise What Is Art?, Tolstoy explains that
art is that which infects the audience with the artist’s emotions. By making
a rationalistic appeal, Tolstoy goes against this theory and undermines
the intention of The Forged Coupon.
This analysis of The Forged Coupon can be used as support Tolstoy’s theory
of art and explain why the work leaves readers cold. In a broader sense,
it is an indication of the effectiveness of emotional appeals in art.
History
through Propaganda in Kalatozov’s Film Sol Svanetii
(Marina Begun)
This paper discusses a number of Soviet propagandistic messages found in
Mikhail Kalatozov’s silent film titled Sol Svanetii released in 1930. In
an age characterized by new ideology, propaganda was a popular way to disseminate
the Soviet Party’s objectives and to gather support for its actions. Each
artistic commission, including Kalatozov’s, had an objective, and to discover
its often subliminal but ever-present message, I analyzed individual shots
and captions of this production. Some of the methods employed in this analysis
included the following: the juxtaposition of camera shots, the pace with
which those shots are shown, the tone and tempo of musical accompaniment,
and the descriptive facial expressions and behavior of the characters. What
is the psychological as well as cinematographic significance of these features;
why does the director present them in this way and not another? Through
this methodology, I concluded that Kalatozov’s work incorporates three of
the Party’s major political initiatives of the day: aspects of Stalin’s
nationalist policy, the sweeping changes of the new economic order as dictated
by the Five-Year Plan, and the complex attitude of the Soviet government
toward religion. Further analysis led to a number of intellectual paradoxes
that indeed pervaded Soviet society during this time period as well. The
film, therefore, is a historical representation of Stalin’s political platform
and of the cultural and social attitudes of many citizens of the State.
Clearly, the film’s message is to convince the Soviet audience of the dire
necessity of progressive governmental policies, and the role that propaganda
plays in indoctrinating the nation is paramount to the very success of the
regime. The masterful combination of these themes in Sol Svanetii makes
this film a representation of a complicated political history and social
change in the Soviet Union, and Kalatozov’s technical skill creates a remarkable
piece of cinematography.
The Ukrainian Question as Political
Capital in the Struggle for Galicia and Volhynia,
1939-1956
(Markian Dobczansky)
This paper seeks to analyze the ways in which the idea of Ukrainian national
sovereignty was appropriated and exploited in Western Ukraine by forces
vying for power there during the Second World War. It looks specifically
at the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and seeks to frame its
encounter with the Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish inhabitants of the region.
Using Ukrainian integral nationalism as its entry point, the paper briefly
sketches a picture of the region as a whole, and examines what possible
uses the Ukrainian national idea had in the context of the Ukrainian-Polish
Civil War as well as the wider Nazi-Soviet conflict.
The OUN’s every political calculation and tactical alliance was made with
the goal of an ethnically homogeneous Ukrainian nation-state in mind. It
saw Poland as the greatest threat to a Ukrainian national state, a view
that reflected pre-war realities. The OUN’s ties to Nazi Germany early in
the war were based on a shared revisionism, but quickly soured when Germany
refused to acknowledge the revival of the Ukrainian state proclaimed by
UPA activists in 1941. The Soviet Union, which presented an alternative
possibility for a Ukrainian nation-state, was consistently viewed by the
OUN as an enemy, despite some of its propaganda being couched in national
terms.
Broadly speaking, this paper shows that despite the global implications
of World War Two, the conflict was perceived in local terms in this region
of Eastern Europe. Here the critical dynamic between Ukrainians and Poles
was informed more by events leading up to the war than by the progress of
the war itself. The succession of occupations greatly complicated this relationship,
but the tradition of enmity continued through the war and beyond.
The
Peculiarities of Russian Democracy
(Roman Kuznetsov)
The Russian Parliamentary elections in late 2003 and the following Presidential
election last month may become an indicator of where democracy stands in
Russia. The most important question to ask here is why Russia has not been
able to uphold a stabile democracy: because it is not endowed with strong,
selfless leaders, or because Russian society has not yet developed enough
to be ready to support a democracy.
I want to analyze both of the elections and their results, and then conclude
what they mean in the context of Russian democracy. International voting
groups claimed after the elections that they witnessed many “undemocratic”
practices during the elections. Though the incumbent President did not participate
in any sort of campaign, the state-run press and media gave Vladimir Putin
pages and hours of coverage every day. Meanwhile, his opponents could barely
manage to get their faces on national television for at least a few minutes.
Presidents of some universities simply refused to grant candidates access
to their students, not willing for whatever reasons to aid any candidate
whose name was not Putin. In one city the sick could not check into a hospital
without first presenting their absentee ballots. In the end, without much
surprise, Putin won the election by a large margin. “United Russia,” the
party supported by Putin and his allies in the security forces, won the
most seats in the new Duma. Another important trend witnessed in the Duma
elections, was the strong success of Ultra-nationalist, anti-Western parties:
The Liberal Democrats (the name is misleading) and the newly-formed Rodina
garnered a large percentage of votes. Meanwhile, the two liberal, pro-Western
parties, Yabloko and Union of Right Forces, for the first time did not receive
enough votes to get seats in the new Duma.
The results of both of the elections lead me to partially conclude that
Russian society is not yet ready to hold up the foundations of a true democracy,
and instead they opt for a strong president, without a true regard for democracy,
promising to revive the dream of a strong and powerful Russian Empire.
Opera in the Novel: Anna Karenina
and Madame Bovary
(Shannon Meyerhoff)
In this paper, I analyze the role of opera in Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina
and Gustave Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary. While Tolstoy uses the opera
to show the superficiality that characterizes society, and the inability
of Anna to conform to that society, Flaubert uses the opera to highlight
the innate superficiality of his leading character, Emma Bovary. Both authors
use the social arena of the opera to comment differently on the relationship
between society and the individual, and the development of the individual,
in nineteenth century Europe. Through a close reading of the texts, I determine
that, according to Tolstoy, it is impossible for an individual to be true
to his/herself within the context of society, because social artifice corrupts
all authenticity. In contrast, as he shows through Emma Bovary, Flaubert
considers it impossible for an individual to achieve individuality, or a
true sense of self, not because of the direct interference of society, but
because of the individual’s lack of depth. Though Anna could achieve individuality,
and a defined sense of self, if it were not for the limitations imposed
upon her by society, Emma’s inability to develop herself, and establish
her own identity, is a product of her own weakness as a character. While
all of Flaubert’s society is depthless, there is no real conflict between
the individual and society in Madame Bovary, because the individual him/herself
is just as depthless, if not more so, than the society in which s/he lives.
Music
of the Stone: O. Mandelstam’s Early Poetry
(Alexander Pantelyat)
By about 1910, Russian literature was at a crossroads: the Symbolists had
come to dominate Russian poetry, but were challenged by a younger generation
that strove to break away and establish new directions. The Acmeists (from
the Greek akme—the highest degree of something, “a time of flowering”) were
one such group that sought to use words more objectively, accusing the Symbolists
of being too subjective and mystical with words and their meanings. The
Acmeists saw themselves primarily as craftsmen, preferring Apollonian architecture
(i.e., building poems) to Dionysian music, the epitome of Symbolist poetry.
Osip Mandelstam, arguably the greatest Russian poet of the 20th century,
left the Symbolists and joined the Acmeist movement in 1912. Stone, his
first collection of poems, was received and interpreted as an Acmeist body
of work that was architectural, not musical. In this study, a detailed analysis
of Stone’s poems attempted to show that in fact music was a key element
in this collection. The poems were analyzed formally, and their context
and subtext were examined as well in an attempt to identify salient musical
elements. Also, relevant details from Mandelstam’s life were presented in
support of the argument. As a result, it was found that Stone’s verse is
at once musical and songlike. It was concluded that Stone actually represents
Mandelstam’s transition from Symbolism to Acmeism. Mandelstam never forgot
the Symbolist Paul Verlaine’s exhortation “Music before all!” even as he
joined the Acmeists, and this is evident in a number of Stone’s poems. The
implication of the paper is that a great poet and his work can never be
pigeonholed into a single movement or idea, even if s/he ostensibly identifies
with one.
A
Prisoner in the Caucasus: Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Good Art’
(Zoya Bozhko)
In 1898, Tolstoy proclaims that A Prisoner in the Caucasus (1872) is one
of only two examples of ‘good art’ among his works. This paper presents
a stylistic and theoretical analysis of Tolstoy’s short story A Prisoner
in the Caucasus (1972) in order to determine why Tolstoy himself crowned
it as such. Through the study of Tolstoy’s favorite literary techniques
and the interpretation of his thematic reasoning, I come to the conclusion
that Tolstoy praises this story due to its complexity and the simplicity
with which he presents it.
According to Tolstoy’s own deliberations on art, A Prisoner in the Caucasus
is artful because it is an example of ‘universal art’ – an art form that
is simple, poignant and emotional enough to be understood by every human
being. His adept use of defamiliarization, his focus on name-characterization,
as well as his appeal to the basic virtuous inclinations and emotions unite
all readers in understanding.
On a deeper level of analysis the short story exhibits religious/spiritual
themes that provide insight into the author’s critique of humanity. He comments
on the righteous unity of all human beings, the division of that unity according
to culture and religion From religious ceremonies to social behavioral patterns,
Tolstoy points out the details of cultural conflict that has been plaguing
South Central Russia for over a century.
In short, while less than 20 pages-long, A Prisoner in the Caucasus presents
a fascinating topic for analysis as a work of Tolstoy on a cultural and
artistic level and an ethnographical or political level. Thus, while the
author himself praises the story for its simplicity and accessibility, it
emerges as quite a complicated work.
For
the Love of God: Dichotomy versus Continuum of Religion and Romance in Les
Liaisons Dangereuses and Madame Bovary
(Sharon Cantor)
My paper is devoted to the representation of the Christian God in two French
adultery novels. Close readings of Choderlos de Laclos’s Les Liaisons dangereuses
and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary reveal that both works associate romance
and spirituality as major forces in adultery, and ironically cast the Christian
God as an amatory rival. Further analysis indicates that, while in de Laclos’s
case God and the seducer are dichotomous, Flaubert creates a continuum where
the two are often confused. Emma Bovary’s psyche, which includes a lifelong
fixation on a “God-Man” adulterous figure, defines the moral landscape of
the novel, producing endemic confusion of love and religion and a loss of
reputable identity for both of them. In Les Liaisons, Mme. de Tourvel transfers
her devotion from God to the Vicomte de Valmont, but religion itself preserves
cohesiveness and dignity due to its bifurcation from sexual love. Both authors
portray God as a romantic rival, but He functions differently within the
narratives to frame a dichotomy or continuum of love and religion. These
findings may advance some understanding of the mechanisms of Flaubert’s
subjective moral universe. As I conclude, due in part to the different treatments
of God in the narrative, Mme. de Tourvel suffers a moral fall but the dichotomy
of love and religion endures, while Emma’s confusion indicts all other inhabitants
of the novel’s world.
The
Theme of Literary Self-Construction in Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin
(Daniel Corren)
In my paper I will examine the theme of literary self-construction in Alexander
Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. My argument derives from two primary sources. The
first is the relationship between Pushkin and his text. In analyzing these
sections, I look specifically at passages of the text in which the narrative
voice is particularly detached, most notably the closing to chapter one.
The second is the constructed nature of the two main characters in the novel,
Eugene Onegin and Tatyana. For this part of the argument, I examine in detail
the literary aspects of the descriptions of these two characters, particularly
those in which Pushkin compares Onegin to a Byronic hero or describes Tatyana
as being immersed in her romance novels. Having established that both of
these characters base themselves and their lives on literary ideals instead
of on interactions with the real world, the next step is to examine the
consequences of this choice. Pushkin’s portrayal is undoubtedly negative.
I look at Eugene’s rejection of Tatyana, his duel with Lensky and Tatyana’s
eventual rejection of Eugene at the conclusion of the text for evidence
for the ultimately destructive nature of literary self-construction. I conclude
that Pushkin has a negative view of immersing oneself in literature and
that, as an author, he struggled to maintain his own identity as separate
from that of his narrator.
Deathbed
Love: the Final Realization of Love after the Possibility of that Love Has
Passed in Eugene Onegin and Madame Bovary
(Mary Gilroy Droesch)
The question that this paper asks is one of motivation. My thesis is that
the underlying motivation of adultery, as opposed to any other crime of
passion, is not desire, or anger, or revenge, but rather the idea of unattainability.
A lover becomes more attractive when no longer emotionally available. In
both these works we see how availability drives interest. I examined the
asymmetry of both relationships, and located the point of realization for
each character. There is an initial stage where there are no obstacles,
a separation, a period where the two main characters are apart, and the
final realization of the trueness of the first love. Both Onegin and Emma
have time to realize the substance in the love that they left behind to
follow the more exciting romantic "notion" of love. They have
reached a truth about the nature of love, and how sincere love from one
person is more significant than having a lot of lovers, but not before fate
intervenes to make a reunion impossible. This final realization of truth
comes too late. Emma is dying, and so cannot try again at her relationship
with Charles. Tatyana is married, and so Eugene cannot make it up to her,
even though he realizes that she had been his true love all along. These
works suggest that whether the final realization of love is driven by true
love or unnatainability does not matter. That is less important than the
more final idea that if it takes an impending final and definite separation
for the person to realize that they want to be with the other person, then
perhaps they do not deserve them.
Love
as Pretext: Seduction Rules and Techniques in Dangerous Liaisons
(Lauren Fernandez)
"Your power over me is unimaginable, you control my feelings absolutely."
The words of Valmont written to his love, Madame de Tourvel, demonstrate
the importance of power in any seduction attempt. In Dangerous Liaisons,
the retention of power ultimately means giving it away first. The seducer
declares that he is lost without his love and that she is in control of
his happiness and his sorrow. Ultimately, seduction is about the power to
seem powerless. This presentation, using a close reading of the text, will
demonstrate how and why the main characters in Dangerous Liaisons use the
feigned loss of power when seducing a would-be-lover and how successful
these attempts are.
Pushkin’s
Romantic Expression in Eugene Onegin: An Investigation of Love between Eugene
and Tatyana
(Rebecca Hood)
This paper is a study of how, through his novel Eugene Onegin, Alexander
Pushkin broadens the expressive capacity of Romantic literature through
his juxtaposition of Romantic cliches and realistic situations. How is Pushkin
as successful in his portrayal of the love between Tatyana as something
unique and authentic, even though he still uses so many of the stereotypes
of typical Romantic literature? Through textual analysis, I plan to analyze
how Pushkin has elaborated on the literary Romantic ideas of his time. I
focus on the love Pushkin depicts between Eugene Onegin and Tatyana, concentrating
on a close textual analysis of the two transitional scenes that occur right
after first Tatyana and then much later Onegin send each other letters confessing
their love and passion for each other. The characters fall in love, yet
initially their passions remain unconsummated because of Eugene’s conviction
that he could never be faithful to Tatyana. Alone through their experiences
in life, the characters mature, yet their love still endures. At the next
transition point they again have an opportunity to experience love, but
again they are unable to connect, held back this time by Tatyana’s faithfulness
to her marriage. Both times they are held back by societal conventions—realities
of life—but the one reality that continues to persist is their mutual love.
My readings are bolstered by critical work regarding Pushkin himself, Romanticism
of the time, and Russia at the time.
Excess
and Consequence
(Jon Levin)
Dangerous Liaisons and Madame Bovary are novels about sexual passion. In
both novels, sex (or the desire thereof) causes suffering, and suffering
is alleviated by death. But the two novels are written nearly a century
apart. In my piece, “Excess and Consequence,” I compare the individual death
scenes in the two novels. Based on general characterizations of enlightenment
and romantic views on passion and rationality, I explain these textual differences
as reflections of periods in which the authors write.
The death of the Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons (1781) is fraught
with late eighteenth century French zeitgeist; the scene depicts cold, impassionate
rationality. The means of death, the purpose of death, and the character
psychology all respond to the enlightenment worldview. Conversely, the death
of Emma in Madame Bovary (1857) is passionately irrational: she acts upon
emotional whims, loses her mental capacities, and dies for no calculated
purpose.
Thus, the surface similarity of the two scenes (and the underlying dissimilarity)
draws out the tension between enlightenment and romanticism in the two texts.
Dangerous Liaisons uses sex and death – excess and consequence – to react
to an exceedingly rational pre-revolutionary France. Madame Bovary uses
the same scenario, a similar cause and effect relationship, as a response
to an entirely different worldview: one in which rationality is sacrificed
to emotion.
The Double Standard in Dangerous
Liaisons and Madame Bovary
(Dorit Price-Levine)
The presentation examines how Laclos’ Dangerous Liaisons and Flaubert’s
Madame Bovary set double standards for men and women in terms of their fulfillment
of gender roles. In these novels, male characteristics are defined by power,
control, and, above all, rationality. In contrast, female behavior is characterized
by excessive emotionality, weakness, and virtue. While women who deviate
from gender roles are made to suffer gruesome if not fatal consequences,
men are granted flexibility to cross over the gender barrier and suffer
no ill consequences for such deviance, as long as the male characters retain
their dominant status over their female counterparts.
The analysis is textually based and draws upon examples from two female
characters and two male characters who deviate from gender norms in romantic
relationships. Laclos’ Marquise de Merteuil and Flaubert’s Madame Bovary
both wield the power in their relationships with men and both are made to
suffer ill consequences. Laclos’ Valmont and Flaubert’s Rodolphe also deviate
from the gender norms by appearing weak and vulnerable in their efforts
to seduce women, however the double standard that allows men to cross freely
back and forth over the gender barrier permits Rodolphe to live on unscathed
throughout the novel. Only Valmont suffers fatal consequences for his behavior,
for his facade of weakness turns into reality when he unknowingly allows
himself to be manipulated by the Marquise.
Both Laclos’ and Flaubert’s novels, Dangerous Liaisons and Madame Bovary
convey the message that unlike women, men are free to play with gender regulations,
as long as their games are only facades and in reality they remain in control
over the female characters. The existence of this double standard in both
Flaubert’s and Laclos’ texts signifies that in at least the late 18th and
19th centuries men and women enjoyed not only different but also unequal
standings in society.
Centre
and Periphery: Moscow and the Human Rights Movement in the Soviet Union
(Clare Russell)
Studies of the Human Rights movement in the Soviet Union have quite understandably
focused on a small group of Moscow intellectuals. With the benefits of connections
established at Moscow State University and in the kompanii, groups were
able to emerge that took advantage of the capital’s superior facilities
and access to the eyes and ears of the West. Over time, these dissenters
broadened their mandate from the right to publish dissenting work free from
the fear of arrest, to an all encompassing mission for the protection of
human rights and freedom in the Soviet Union and beyond. Their claim to
speak for the fundamental rights of mankind was compromised by their status
as a small group of isolated intellectuals. However, dissenting groups and
individuals were organizing and agitating outside of the capital. Over time,
Muscovites were able to communicate with human rights agitators on the peripheries
of the Soviet Union, while encompassing a number of quite specific grievances
in a broader human rights program. However, it is erroneous to conceive
of a cohesive national movement with a central headquarters in Moscow. Fundamental
differences in goals, methods and values, combined with state repression
proved to be insurmountable obstacles. At best, they formed a network of
loosely linked but essentially autonomous groups and individuals, unified
briefly by common causes but without a shared long term strategy or ideological
platform.
The evidence used in this paper includes statistical data such as the constitution
of petitions, details of trials and the content of samizdat, most notably
the Chronicle of Current Events which include listings of contemporary causes
and issues. This will be combined with more subjective memoirs and interviews
which relate the experiences of individual dissenters.
Flirting
with Danger: The Loss of the Enlightenment Dream in Laclos’ Les Liaisons
Dangeruese
(Yuko Torihara)
In Choderlos de Laclos’s Enlightenment epistolary text, Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont attempt to understand pleasure
in the realm of the mind and ultimately perfect their art of seduction through
rationalist means. The two play mind games, or power games to seduce and
debilitate (emasculate?) the other, and flirt between emotional indulgence
and austere self-discipline. In their letter exchange, there is a constant
debate on the biological nature and societal function of the female sex,
and the two converses on this topic through the discourse of their own seduction
techniques. They both objectify the female gender and achieve their goals
through seemingly misogynistic methods, Valmont’s being an exploitive one
and the Marquise’s objectifying of her own self and betraying her sex due
to the loss of hope in womanhood. However, what bestow the two successes,
rationalistic thinking and oversimplification of the female sex, is also
what destroys them. This ultimately lead to their tragic fates at the end
of the novel: death and social ostracism.
A
Moral Lesson in Anna Karenina: Tolstoy's Beliefs on Identity Construction
(Ben Weiner)
My paper focuses on identity construction in Anna Karenina, specifically
addressing Tolstoy's views on the proper and improper methods for one to
create one's own concept of self. Within the novel, Anna and Levin are constantly
juxtaposed to each other, and I use Levin as Tolstoy's example of how one
ought
to create one's identity to determine why Anna's method proves to be destructive
and harmful. The key differences between the two are that whereas Levin
is patient, constantly doubting and testing his beliefs, Anna is rather
impetuous, often assuming that anything she argues in favor of or desires
for herself is correct. As Levin's experience proves beneficial and Anna's
ends in her destruction, Tolstoy clearly expresses his belief as to which
approach is right and which is wrong. With Levin as his example, Tolstoy
shows the virtue of being humble and skeptical, and with Anna he illustrates
the folly of
accepting any belief to hastily and believing too strongly in one's own
reasoning. Moreover, Anna also demonstrates the impossibility of finding
wholeness, and Levin's experience illustrates the necessity of accepting
partial solutions to the difficult problems of life.
Are
the Peasant Children to Learn from Us as Tolstoy’s “Bible” of Art: Analyzing
Tolstoy According to The Great Code”
(Rachel Balik)
In this essay, I will attempt to prove that in Tolstoy’s piece, Are the
Peasant Children to learn from us? the author is writing a Bible of how
to appreciate and create “good” literature. Tolstoy spent a good deal of
time trying to create a definition of art’s quality and function and in
his work on teaching the peasant children he indicates that they are better
writers than even Tolstoy himself. What is unique about his story is that
it is not a treatise on art but seemingly an anecdotal tale. One might even
see that it is an anecdotal tale similar to those told in the Old Testament.
The argument for Tolstoy’s piece as a Bible becomes stronger when we look
at the study of typology; the theory that events in the Old Testament –
types – are meant to be realized as higher evolved incidences – anti-types
– in the New Testament. Using the typological analysis presented in Northrop
Frye’s book, The Great Code, I will show that the same literary methods
used to interpret the relation between the Old and New Testaments can be
applied to Tolstoy’s piece. Through such analysis, we can reconstruct what
he hoped his audience would take from his writing. It is through typological
analysis that we can understand that Tolstoy’s work is a historical account,
like the Old Testament, that must be realized by anyone who wants to produce
good art on a higher level. A “Biblical” analysis of Tolstoy’s works also
opens questions about the author’s view of himself as the God of his own
text; he recorded what he perceived to be truths in hope that they would
evolve to a more mystical level. Just as Judaism was a beginning for Christianity,
Tolstoy envisioned art evolving in a similar way. I prove this by closely
following Frye’s description of typology and demonstrating that Tolstoy’s
tale exhibits many parallels to aspects of the Bible.
Doppelganger
and Interpretations of Madness
(Faatima Qureshi)
I intend to do an analysis of madness in Dostoevsky's The Double. This paper
will discuss the effects of social conventions, setting, and self-image
in the appearance of the double as a manifestation of madness. In support
of my analysis, I plan to use examples from other works of Russian literature
as well as The Double, A Psychoanalytic Study, by Otto Rank. I will tie
in other works of Russian literature that address the topic of madness and
the appearances of a double. I will explore instances in The Double that
illustrate the main character’s disgust with himself and his life. Then
I will analyze his escape from this reality through the appearance of and
his subsequent obsession with his double. The role of social conventions
in Russian literature addressing madness, as apparent in Gogol's Diary,
is vital to the idea that a double is a manifestation of madness. Also,
St. Petersburg as a setting for mad tales is common in many works depicting
madness. The shadow/double represents Truth in the work by Esenin, called
The Man in Black, and I would like to include that in order to tie in with
the desire to escape reality through denial of truth and hatred of the double
instead of the self. Madness is an overarching theme in Russian literature
that has been touched on by almost every major author. The presence of madness
in The Double is touched on by Otto Rank, who uses a psychological interpretation
of the main character and searches for the causes of the double’s appearance
within the mind of the main character. The Double by Dostoevsky ultimately
captures many Russian themes in one work while also raising questions about
the presence and detection of madness in Russian society.
