Erotic utopia : the decadent imagination in Russia's fin-de-siecle / Olga Matich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Matich, Olga.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Decadence (Literary movement)--Russia.

Decadence (Literary movement).

Decadence (Literary movement)--Soviet Union.

Authors, Russian--19th century--Attitudes.

Authors, Russian.

Authors, Russian--20th century--Attitudes.

Sex in literature.

Russian literature--19th century--History and criticism.

Russian literature.

Russian literature--20th century--History and criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 340 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Decadent imagination in Russia's fin-de-siècle

Place of Publication:

Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press, c2005.

Summary:

The first generation of Russian modernists experienced a profound sense of anxiety resulting from the belief that they were living in an age of decline. What made them unique was their utopian prescription for overcoming the inevitability of decline and death both by metaphysical and physical means. They intertwined their mystical erotic discourse with European degeneration theory and its obsession with the destabilization of gender. In Erotic Utopia, Olga Matich suggests that same-sex desire underlay their most radical utopian proposal of abolishing the traditional procreative family in favor of erotically induced abstinence. 2006 Winner, CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Titles, Current Reviews for Academic Libraries Honorable Mention, Aldo and Jean Scaglione Prize for Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures, Modern Language Association "Offers a fresh perspective and a wealth of new information on early Russian modernism.... It is required reading for anyone interested in fin-de-siècle Russia and in the history of sexuality in general."-Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Slavic and East European Journal "Thoroughly entertaining."-Avril Pyman, Slavic Review

Contents:

Lev Tolstoy as early modernist : fragmenting and dissecting the body

The meaning of the meaning of love : what is erotic about Vladimir Solov'ev's utopia?

The case of Alexander Blok : marriage, genealogy, degeneration

Blok's femme fatale : history as palimpsest

Transcending gender : the case of Zinaida Gippius

Religious philosophical meetings : celibacy contra marriage

Vasilii Rozanov : the case of an amoral procreationist.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-327) and index.

ISBN:

9786612269776

9780299208837

0299208834

9781282269774

1282269771

OCLC:

318240526

Publisher Number:

2027/heb08755 hdl