Information about the author:

Abstract:

On the material of critical articles and polemical responses (“letters of the characters”) to Leonid Andreev’s The Abyss the gender optics of the contemporaries’ perception of this short story is investigated. It is proved that in the reception of the plot and the depicted situation, two main vectors manifested themselves: one is associated with the understanding of the biological nature of men as different from that of women, and the other — with the social roles of men and women, unequal and also very different from each other. The Abyss broadcasted notions of gender inequality, but for most critics and readers of the early 20^th century it was perceived as natural. A single attempt to take a female position was demonstrated by critic V. Zhabotinsky, who published a “letter” on behalf of the heroine, which, however, also does not question the patriarchal gender norm, including female lack of agency. The “female look” at the The Abyss is tangible only in the position of Countess Tolstoy, understandable in the context of her family relationships and the works of her husband.