Zinaida Gippius's literary works are striking for the development of the theme of androgyny. / Chapter One examines the major Russian Symbolist intellectuals in their treatment of androgyny, which was animated by a desire to transfigure the world. Gippius's treatment of androgyny was at odds with the prevailing theory because it was not based on the defeminization of humanity. / Chapter Two addresses Gippius's reconstruction of Symbolist androgyny theory and explains the rejection of gender-based motivation in her metaphysical system by its orientation toward personality and an awareness of God. / Chapter Three shows how she used her poetry and prose to advance her belief that a perfect, androgynous love could reunite humanity with God. While Gippius's prose describes the search for this type of love, her poetry deals with it as a lyric experience. / The religious motivations of Gippius's redefinition of Symbolist androgyny indicate the need to re-evaluate the place of Orthodox Christianity in the evolution of Russian Symbolism.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.31136 |
Date | January 2001 |
Creators | Robinson, Liam. |
Contributors | Beraha, Laura (advisor) |
Publisher | McGill University |
Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Format | application/pdf |
Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Russian and Slavic Studies.) |
Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
Relation | alephsysno: 001809459, proquestno: MQ70316, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0071 seconds