“Женский вопрос” в драматургии Тэффи

Abstract

Teffi started working on the “woman question” in her very first dramatic works. In Там (There) and Дамы (Ladies) (both 1905), she critically discusses the vulgarization and oversimplification of the problem that reduces it to a fashion or popular commodity. Женский вопрос (The Woman Question) (1906), discusses the issue in greater detail. From that time on, the question surfaces in almost all her plays; nevertheless, the writer’s approach to it does evolve. In her pre-revolutionary works, Teffi reveals the one-sidedness and absurdity of the ways in which feminists and misogynists deal with the issue; she tends to focus on comic situations. Later, Teffi’s émigré plays reflect archetypes and gender rules imposed by society. In Момент судьбы (Moment of Fate) (1937) and Ничего подобного (Nothing of the Kind) (1939), the young female characters are represented lyrically and call to mind the concept of The Eternal Feminine apparently saved by the Logos, embodied here by a rich pretender. The fact that the salvation of the heroines happens only by chance indicates that Teffi perceives futility in the struggle for women’s equality. Her disagreement with the existing order goes hand in hand with a focus on eternal values like human affection, love, and tenderness. This is also evident in Старинный романс (An Old Romance) (1938).