“A breed of mannish females”: women warriors and androgynes in the works of Liubov’ Stolitsa. Article II

The second article of the cycle contains the motif and plot analyses in the works by Liubov’ Stolitsa about the female warrior, written in 1909 and 1914-1917. The author reveals the constant topoi, associated with this figure, on the one hand, and the peculiarities of the interpretation of this character by Stolitsa, on the other. It is dem onstrated that the image of the woman warrior in Stolitsa’s works is rather ambiguous and multi-faceted, the further the more. While in the early works the mode of admiring strength, prowess, and free spirit of these characters remained dominant (though their very existence was attributed only to the mythological or legendary past), gradually Stolitsa’s position becomes more nuanced. Female warriors are represented both as pure maidens and as horrible avengers, similar to the Erinyes. Thus, all the plot and life possibilities, even the opposing ones, such as the duel with the beloved enemy and the rejection of violence, lead to the equally tragic end, i.e. the death of the woman warrior, whose very nature allegedly hinders earthly love and happiness. Especially complicated is “The Song of Golden Olona”, where the counterpoint of poles is achieved (Brunhild and Sophia, the Pagan world and the Christian world, matriarchy and patriarchy). It is also demonstrated that in Stolitsa’s works, the figure of the female warrior can be shown in a very non-characteristic light, i.e. in the comic mode, as it happens in the short play “The Mirror of Maidens”.