The image of a "new woman" in the novel "Virgin Soil" by I. S. Turgenev and in the short story "Mourning the Dead" by Lu Xun

U Xiaoting Postgraduate student, Department of Russian and Foreign Literature, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 1042208147@pfur.ru

Introduction

"... China at the beginning of the XX century. and Russia in the second half of the XIX century. they were in a similar social context" ^{[1, p. 10]}.  As the societies of the two countries developed and the ideas of liberation spread in them, many women of that time, especially from the intellectual environment, decided to free themselves from the influence of the institutions of family and marriage in order to realize their own goals and ambitions. These processes, which took place both in the history of China and Russia, gave impetus to the emancipation of women. Thus, the women's issue became an important topic in Russian literature of the XIX century. and in Chinese literature of the 1920s ^{[2, p. 10; 3, p. 240]}. I. S. Turgenev (1818-1883) and Lu Xin (1881-1936), despite the fact that they lived in different centuries and in different countries, both were concerned about the situation of women of their time and worried about their fate. Lu Xin's only love story "Sorrow for the Departed" (1925) and Turgenev's last novel "Nov" (1877) show images of such a "new woman". The heroines of both works are educated women inspired by the ideas of personal freedom, who rebelled against established prohibitions and restrictions and dared to take a serious step by running away from their family with their lovers. However, the love of both heroines had a tragic end. And although their fates are extremely similar, the results of their paths are different: Zijun died, and Marianne began a new life. This article will analyze both the images of the main characters and the intentions of the writers regarding the development of their characters, which is necessary to determine the reasons for the different finales of the works.

The main part

The image of the two heroines can be analyzed in two aspects: their attitude to personal destiny and understanding of love.

The story of the story "Mourning for the Departed" unfolds against the background of the "Fourth of May" movement. Juansheng, Zijun's lover, was one of those young people who were "baptized" by the new thinking of this period. In a squalid room of the Juansheng community, Zijun enthusiastically tells Zijun about "... the despotism of the family, the need to destroy old customs...", "... about women's equality, about Ibsen, Tagore, Shelley...", and Zijun in response "... smiles and nods his head…And in her eyes there is a purely childish curiosity" ^{[4, p. 253]}. Six months after their acquaintance, Zijun finally shouted out the same loud independent statement: "I belong to myself, and no one has the right to interfere in my life..." ^{[4, p. 253]}. A similar slogan, marking a personal awakening, was expressed by Nora in the play "A Doll's House" (1879) by Henrik Ibsen: "I am a reasonable person, like you — therefore I must be independent and independent, no matter what" ^{[5, pp. 101-102]}. The question of Nora's influence on the development of female characters in Chinese literature deserves special attention, which will be discussed below.

It is obvious that Juansheng's thinking and views played an important role in the enlightenment of Zijun's mind. Having determined her path as a free person, Zijun broke off relations with her family, adherents of the old feudal orders, and, despite the views of others, moved to Juansheng. After her move, Zijun Yi in the new conditions occupied the traditional female niche of a kind of "keeper of the hearth", actually a housewife. After only three weeks, Juansheng began to yearn for her former fearlessness, freedom in expressing her thoughts, noting that "... lately she has become fearful" ^{[4, p. 258]}. Gradually, Juansheng even began to cool down towards Zijun, secretly wishing that she would leave him and start living on her own. Zijun, sensing this, silently accepted Juansheng's "persuasion" and eventually died after their separation.

Everything points to the fact that from the very beginning of a love relationship and before their breakup, Juansheng always held a leading position in them, and Zijun played the role of a follower of Juansheng, the role of a disciple of her enlightened teacher, gradually losing the "right to speak out", which is also reflected in the narrative form of the story — Juansheng's notes. In addition, Zijun's statement, symbolizing her personal awakening, in fact, "... is a change of personality attitude from "I belong to my father" to "I belong to Juansheng"..." ^{[6, p. 90]}.

Unlike Zijun, Marianne, who did not grow up in her native family, does not allow traditional family traditions to suppress her individuality and focuses on her own development: she is engaged in natural sciences, is interested in women's issues. The description of Marianne's appearance in the novel also complements and conveys the image of a revolutionary-minded woman well. During the reign of the traditional female image in Russia, an attractive appearance played an important role, a kind of "... resource, capital of a girl, a woman, strengthening her position in the "bride market" and equivalent to the social achievements of a man" ^{[7, p. 75]}, and Marianne, for example, "... cut her thick brown hair..." ^{[8, p.165]}, which were liked by her admirer Kallomeitsev. This detail indicates her indifference to male approval. In matters of marriage, the self-sufficiency of her life remains paramount for Marianna: she did not succumb to Aunt Sipyagina's desire to marry her to the landowner Kallomeitsev, refused the offer of Aunt Markelov's brother and resolutely chose the revolutionary Nejdanov as her companion. Having run away from her family, Marianne does not limit herself to the family, as Zijun did, but actively participates in preparatory revolutionary work, is ready to make sacrifices in the name of a common cause: "... washed pots with a plague, and plucked chickens, and even combed some boy's curly head" ^{[8, p.322]}. We can note that Marianne is not only ideologically free from the shackles of tradition — her actions also show that she is an independent and independent woman whose fate is in her own hands. 

The theme of love also plays an important role in revealing the image of the main character. The two heroines' different view of her is an important factor that determined the outcome of their paths. To better understand the psychology of Zijun, it is necessary to outline the cultural background that somehow determined her character. Confucianism, which has existed in China for more than two thousand years, occupies an important place in Chinese culture. The norm of female behavior in Confucianism is defined by the formula "threefold submission and four virtues." This means that a woman should "... be virtuous, modest in speech, feminine, hardworking and obedient" ^{[9, p. 208]}. Existing as a principle of Confucian traditions in feudal society, regulating women in terms of morality and expected behavior, this statement had a strong influence on women's thinking in China. It is obvious that Zijun has not yet completely freed itself from the shackles of traditional culture. After fleeing from her patriarchal family, Zijun completely immersed herself in the feeling of love, she pushed her own development into the background: "...daily worries about food, to which Zijun devoted herself entirely. <...> And I also had to feed the dog and chickens. Zijun seemed to have forgotten about everything she was interested in before," and "she had not touched books for a long time" ^{[4, pp. 259, 262]}. Under the influence of old values, the love for Juansheng became the cornerstone of Zijun's new life. In her feeling, she reached the point of obsession, manifested in the fact that love is the most important thing in life. In the event that love is lost for some reason, the motivation for life and its orientation in it will also be lost.

In turn, "... Marianne strives to realize herself in two spheres at once — love and practical activity" ^{[10, p. 47]}. For the "new woman", life ambitions in any case occupy a dominant place, love in this case is only a part of life, not its meaning. In the "Novi" love line, this can be traced through the following features of the relationship between Marianna and Nejdanov. Firstly, their passion for the ideas of the revolution played an important role in the emergence of their mutual feeling, which is repeatedly confirmed in the novel. The following quotes are indicative: "... both of them, this sullen girl and he, are of the same beliefs and of the same stamp"; "... I was again convinced that I would be with her as a comrade..."; "in our rapprochement, personal feeling played a secondary role... but we were irrevocably united. In the name of the cause? Yes, in the name of the cause" ^{[8, pp. 174, 176, 222]}. Secondly, although at first glance, the flight of Marianna and Nejdanov is a gesture of protest against traditional patriarchal values, but, in fact, it was carried out in order to be able to fully express themselves on the revolutionary field. Thirdly, having run away from Uncle Sipyagin's house, Marianna does not rely entirely on Nejdanov, but supports him as a comrade, and also takes an active part in preparing the revolution, thereby realizing her own goals.

"The world of a work is an artistically mastered and transformed reality" ^{[11, p. 195]}. This statement applies to the works in question. The artistic worlds of "Mourning for the Departed" and "Novi" vividly depict the spirit of the revolutionary movement of that time and the mood prevailing in society: In "Mourning for the Departed", a turning point in cultural and historical history for China is recorded, the "Fourth of May" movement (early XX century), and in "Novi" — the populist movement of the 1870s in Russia. It is worth adding to this that "... in fact, literature is the externalization of the inner world of poets and writers, the result of emotional outpouring, the product of subjective feelings and experiences" ^{[12, p. 25]}.

At the beginning of the XX century, with the spread of the idea of personal liberation in China within the framework of the "Fourth of May" movement, the appearance of Henrik Ibsen's play "Dollhouse" in China caused a wave of "Nora fever", which not only attracted public attention to the themes of female emancipation and freedom of marriage, but also led to the fact that Nora, The heroine of the play, who ran away from her family, became a model of female emancipation, which was imitated one after another by Chinese women. And Zijun's flight in the story "Mourning for the Departed" is Lu Xin's reflection of these real facts. At the same time, Lu Xin also presents his thoughts on this phenomenon. Back at the end of 1923, in his speech on "What will happen to Nora after her flight", Lu Xin noted that Nora has only two ways to go: either to descend into prostitution or return to her family ^{[13, p. 166]}, thereby revealing the dilemma faced by the emancipation of female individuality in the socio-historical situation of China at that time. The subsequent publication of the story "Mourning for the Departed" is the best interpretation of this point of view by Lu Xin.

The ending of the heroine of "Novi" also implicitly contains the writer's reflection on the fate of the populist movement. On the one hand, Turgenev highly appreciates the dedication of the narodniks and expresses sympathy for them, on the other, according to the ideologist of narodism P. L. Lavrov, Turgenev did not approve of their attempts to awaken the people to revolt against the government by approaching the people and did not pin hopes on them ^{[8, p. 485]}. And according to Turgenev, Solomin is "... closer and clearer to me, closer to my concepts and ideas..." ^{[14, p. 419]}. That is, "Turgenev clearly associates some hopes, his vision of post—reform Russia with Solomin, a man of business endowed with knowledge and will..." ^{[15, p. 78]}. Therefore, "Mariana's final choice in favor of Solomin was, according to Turgenev, a historical necessity" ^{[16, p. 90]}.

Conclusion

As a result of the work done, the following conclusions can be drawn.

If we talk about Zijun, then in her time, freedom in the manifestation of love was itself a revolution, so she was a progressive woman in this sense. However, her idea of love, based on the fact that all the aspirations of a person are concentrated on the object of feeling for another, can be called unhealthy. In addition, Zijun, although freed from patriarchal power, immediately plunged into the quagmire of marital power. Not fully realizing that a woman is an independent person, Zijun defines herself as a kind of application to the masculine principle. This was the inevitable factors in her tragedy. Unlike Zijun, Marianne is a real emancipated woman and the mistress of her destiny. Independent of anyone, she is focused on self-improvement and active participation in public life. And therefore, despite the tragic end of relations with Nejdanov, caused by his suicide, Marianne was able to return to life thanks to the faith of the revolution and continue the "common cause" together with Solomin. Summing up, we can conclude that love cannot serve as the final exit of a personality from the "old world"; self—education in a broad sense is a necessary condition for awakening female consciousness; only in this way can women free themselves from the shackles of traditional patriarchal values, abandon the oppression of family and society, and avoid the tragic fate exemplified by The history of Zijun can serve.

Speaking about the author's intentions, it is obvious that Lu Xin uses the tragedy of Zijun as an opportunity to illustrate that the "liberation of individuality" and "freedom of marriage" preached by the Fourth of May movement are doomed to remain empty slogans without liberating the consciousness of all segments of the population. And Marianne's breakup of love with the narodnik Nejdanov and Marianne's appeal to Solomin, who advocated gradual changes "from the bottom up", in fact, are Turgenev's opinion and bold prediction about the future course of Russia's reform.

The prospects for further research are seen in a more detailed and holistic examination of the image of the "new woman" in Russian and Chinese literature, which is associated with the historical process of female emancipation in Russia and China, respectively.