“Female myth” in A.M. Remizov's novel “Iveren”

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways of the female image mythologization in the book “Iveren”, which represents one of the final works of the writer. The study is based on the historical - literary method. The scientific novelty of the work rests on the aspects of A.M. Remizov’s mythological quest applied to research some female characters of the book. The analysis of the text revealed that A.M. Remizov appealed to folk notions of femininity in the process of constructing his own “myth of the female”. To develop this vision he analyzes the following images: “lesavka”, “sad witch”, Snow White, Snow Maiden, and Kikimora. A.M. Remizov develops a largely contradictory picture of the female image. The writer’s appeal to mythology points out to the unearthly origin of the woman. According to the research of the writer, the most important aspects of the female origin are abilities to be sacrificial, compassionate and inspiring, as well as irrational and unpredictable in behavior. In the context of the Russian literary tradition Remizov’s appeal to folklore is viewed as a reflection of the general spirit based on mythology so wide spread at the beginning of the XX century.