Pure, Strong and Sexless : : The Peasant Woman's Body and Gleb Uspensky / / Henrietta Mondry.

• Superior document: Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics ; 43
• VerfasserIn: Mondry, Henrietta,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden; , Boston : : BRILL,, 2006.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics ; 43.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (290 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Pure, Strong and Sexless explores the representation of gender and sexuality of peasant women in turn of the century Russian culture through the writings of populist writer Gleb Uspensky. Uspensky's numerous works address a range of issues related to sexuality, including infanticide, abortion, prostitution, adultery and venereal disease. This is the first comprehensive study of populist's fantasies in regard to the peasant woman's body as a non-sexed utopian body within Russian fin-de-siecle sexual discourse. Included in this book is the first English translation of the diary of Uspensky's psychiatrist, Dr Boris Sinani. This frank account portrays the tragic decline of a sensitive observer and writer into the psychotic and delusionary world of schizophrenia. This work is an invaluable source for students of Russian literature, gender studies, and history of psychiatry.

Table of Contents

Introduction -- Chapter 1: "Daydreams": the quest for social gender changes or a new type of beauty? -- Chapter 2: "In a Woman's Position": truncated sexuality in young women and teenage boys -- Chapter 3: How 'straight' is the Venus de Milo? Shaping gender in stone sculpture -- Chapter 4: "A Good Russian type": in search of a new masculinity -- Chapter 5: Peasant sexuality and demonic possession -- Chapter 6: "She Stopped!": moral rebirth through hard labor -- Chapter 7: Children: necessary evil or product of divine will? -- Chapter 8: The sacred egg: a symbol of human procreation -- Chapter 9: The final testimony: "Peasant Women" -- Conclusion -- Appendix: The Diary of Doctor B. N. Sinani: a record of Gleb Uspensky's illness -- Translator's introduction by Henrietta Mondry -- Preface to the Diary by publisher Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich -- The Diary of Doctor B. N. Sinani -- Bibliography -- Index.