The Superfluous Man and the Necessary Woman: A "Re-Vision"

Abstract

Lt is a common misconception among Slavists that, before the twentieth century, there were no women authors of prose in Russia, certainly no good or interesting female prose writers.' In fact, women wrote many and varied texts, including influential prose works, and were a vital part of the literary process in Russia in the nineteenth century.2 Given their importance, it is surprisingly difficult to reconstruct the part they played in the larger literary culture. Women's writings were regularly published in Biblioteka dlia chteniia, Otechestvennye zapiski, Sovremennik, and other popular journals of the day, and were often issued in book form, sometimes running to several editions.3 But women's prose writings of the nineteenth century have re-