Typology of the Female Characters in D.S. Merezhkovsky’s and Z.N. Gippius’ Plays

Abstract

The article reveals patterns in the construction of female characters in the entire corpus of D.S. Merezhkovsky’s and Z.N. Gippius’ dramas. Although their plays are connected by a number of common motifs, themes and images, the construction of femininity by the husband-and-wife authors differs in many ways. Merezhkovsky is more traditional than Gippius: in his plays, female figures, as a rule, turn out to be only a background for a male character who suffers between “two loves,” anticipating, but not being able to accept the truth of the Third Testament. Therefore, the female characters either embody two faces of Eros, or simply represent variations of female types constant for literature and culture, such as the “Amazon,” “comforter,” “strong woman,” etc. In Gippius, female figures are brought to the fore, it is they who solve existential issues. Their main characteristic is the desire for “that which is not of this world.” The male characters of Merezhkovsky are mainly occupied by their love for two different women, while the female characters of Gippius are occupied by their attempts to find some “meaning,” to transform life, Russia and themselves.

Keywords

• d. merezhkovsky
• z. gippius
• plays
• femininity
• melodrama
• female characters
• third testament
• sacred flesh.