Attractive function of female images in fiction (by Belarusian prose of 1920–30s)

Authors

  • Аleksandra M. Tscharnavokaya Yanka Kupala Institute of Literature Studies, Center for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 1 Surhanava Street, 2 building, Minsk 220072, Belarus

Keywords:

character, typology, functionality, psychologism, amplua, stereotypes of femininity, Jadvihin Sh., Zmitrok Bjadulja, Michas Zarecki, Michas Lynkou

Abstract

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the images of «femme fatale», «woman-temptress» and «girl-victim» in the works of Jadvihin Sh., Zmitrok Bjadulja, Michas Zarecki, Michas Lynkou. The study found, that female characters of these types perform an attractive function – they are a «lure» for the the main character and for the reader. The purpose of this article is to determine the characteristics of attractive female images using methods and approaches of gender studies. It’s concluded, that attractive female images represent the stereotypes of femininity; they are schematic and one-dimensional. The character is represented as a sexual object; intriguing circumstances of woman’s personal life are frequently accented. Dynamic deconcentrated description compensates for the static nature of the image. It’s noted, that in many works of these period a love story is introduced to interest the reader in described social and political processes. The results of the research clarify the typology of female images based on their functions and help to characterize one of the most common approaches to the construction of female characters.

Author Biography

  • Аleksandra M. Tscharnavokaya, Yanka Kupala Institute of Literature Studies, Center for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 1 Surhanava Street, 2 building, Minsk 220072, Belarus

    postgraduate student at the department of theory and history of literary

References

  1. Kardapol’ceva V. N. Zhenskie liki Rossii [Russian female imagies]. Ekaterinburg : Human. Univ., 2000 (in Russ.).
  2. Bol’shoi Rossiiskii entsiklopedicheskii slovar’ [Big Russian encyclopedic dictionary]. Moscow : Bol’shaya Russ. entsikl., 2003 (in Russ.).
  3. Haranin L. J., Laushuk S. S., Mushynski M. I., et al. Gistoryja belaruskaj litaratury XX stagoddzja [History of Belarusian literature of the XX century] : in 4 vols. Vol. 1 (1901–1920). Mіnsk : Belarus. navuka, 2001 (in Belarus.).
  4. Bahdanovich I. E., Arochka M., Tychyna M. Gistoryja belaruskaj litaratury XX stagoddzja [History of Belarusian literature of the XX century] : in 4 vols. Vol. 2 (1921–1941). Mіnsk : Belarus. navuka, 2002 (in Belarus.).
  5. Mushynskі M. І. Neskarony talent: prawdzivaja gistoryja zhyccja i tvorchasci Mihasja Zarjeckaga [Unconquered talent: real history of M. Zarecki’s life and creative work]. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 1991 (in Belarus.).
  6. Vojush І. D. [In an unhospitable world… Female images in Zarecki’s prose]. Rodnae slova. 2004. No. 9. P. 9–12 ; No. 10. P. 19–21 (in Belarus.).
  7. Potehina E. A. [Cultural models of the feminine: femme fatale and the vamp]. ХХ Carskosel’skie chteniya. (Saint Petersburg, 20–21 April, 2016). Saint Petersburg, 2016. Vol. 1. P. 106–110 (in Russ.).
  8. Jadvіhіn Sh. Vybranyja tvory [Selected works]. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 2006 (in Belarus.).
  9. Zarjeckі M. Zbor tvoraw [Collected works] : in 4 vols. Vol. 2 [Naked beast. Paths and Roads]. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura,
  10. (in Belarus.).
  11. Sudnik M. R., Krywko M. N. (eds). [Explanatory dictionary of Belarusian language]. Minsk : BelEN, 2005 (in Belarus.).
  12. Bjadulja Z. Zbor tvoraw [Collected works] : in 5 vols. Vol. 5 [Jazjep Krushynskі]. Book 1. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 1987 (in Belarus.).
  13. Zareckі M. Vjaz’mo [Sheaf]. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 2006 (in Belarus.).
  14. Guzhalouskі A. Seksual’naja rjevaljucyja w Saveckaj Belarusi: 1917–1929 gg. [Sexual revolution in the Soviet Belarus: 1917–1929]. Minsk : A. M. Janushkevіch, 2017 (in Belarus.).
  15. Lynkou M. Nad Bugam [Above the river Bug]. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 2002 (in Belarus.).
  16. Bjadulja Z. Zbor tvoraw [Collected works] : in 5 vols. Vol. 5 [Jazjep Krushynskі]. Book 2. Minsk : Mastackaja lіtaratura, 1989 (in Belarus.).
  17. Bakhtin M. M. Estetika slovesnogo tvorchestva [Aesthetics of verbal art]. Moscow : Iskusstvo, 1986 (in Russ.).
  18. Daix P. Sem’ vekov romana [Seven centuries of the novel]. Moscow : Izd. inostr. lit., 1962 (in Russ.).
  19. Majseenka A. F. Tvorchasc’ Mihasja Zarjeckaga: stanawlenne talentu [Сreative work of M. Zarecki: achievement of talent]. Mіnsk : Vyshjejshaja shkola, 1978 (in Belarus.).

Downloads

Published

2019-03-01

Issue

No. 2 (2018): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philology

Section

Literary Research

License

The authors who are published in this journal agree to the following:

  1. The authors retain copyright on the work and provide the journal with the right of first publication of the work on condition of license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial. 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  2. The authors retain the right to enter into certain contractual agreements relating to the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. post it on the institutional repository, publication in the book), with the reference to its original publication in this journal.
  3. The authors have the right to post their work on the Internet (e.g. on the institutional store or personal website) prior to and during the review process, conducted by the journal, as this may lead to a productive discussion and a large number of references to this work. (See The Effect of Open Access.)

How to Cite

[1]
Tscharnavokaya А.M. 2019. Attractive function of female images in fiction (by Belarusian prose of 1920–30s). Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philology. 2 (Mar. 2019), 33–43.