V. B. Zuseva-Ozkan. The warrior maiden in Russian modernist literature: Image, motifs, and plots

Abstract

The review deals with V. Zuseva-Ozkan’s monograph that describes the folkloric and mythological origins of warrior maidens and their depictions in European literatures. This study focuses on the Amazons, Valkyries, Artemis, Athena, Brunhild, Jeanne D’Arc, and other female warriors. In her ground-breaking work that greatly enriches Russian gender studies, the scholar finds and examines the representations of female warriors by Russian modernist authors (V. Bryusov, A. Blok, A. Bely, N. Gumilyov, M. Tsvetaeva, and others). The scholar conducts a detailed analysis of the selected texts, drawing parallels with the authors’ other works and uncovering the sources of their inspiration. Establishing the motifs and topoi of the warrior maiden subject (the heroine wearing male clothing or armour, the virginity motif, her androgyny, etc.), the monograph examines them in the context of an individual author’s world. It is suggested, for example, that, while Blok and Bely incorporated female warriors in their mystical schemes, Tsvetaeva used the image as the embodiment of gender transgression.