Poor Liza Character in 20th Century Russian Literature
It is no accident that the name that is attributed to the heroine in a number of Russian novels of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is named after some derivation of the name Elizabeth. Karamzin is the first to revere this name in his work Poor Liza and it is this work that sets off a chain reaction that causes the occurrence of subsequent characters in Russian literature. This character can particularly be found in works such as Pushkin’s Queen of Spades, Griboyedov’s Woe from Wit, and even briefly in Gogol’s Dead Souls. At the time that Karamzin published Poor Liza, Russia had recently seen the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1741-1761) who played a great role in shaping Russia’s identity and culture. Through a close reading of those Russian texts which include the Elizabeth character, an understanding of this name’s historic role in Russian literature can be achieved and its parallels to the monarch that this name evokes.
Before tracing the Liza name in the Russian texts, it is important to better understand the character traits and lives of the empresses after whom this name takes. The more significant of these being Queen Elizabeth of Russia as it was not long after her reign that Karamzin wrote Poor Liza. Elizabeth was born to Peter I of Russia and Catherine I of Russia; however due to the fact that her parents’ marriage was not publically acknowledged at the time of her birth, this would be a detail used to challenge her legitimacy to the throne by political opponents (Antonov, 104).In her outward appearance, Elizabeth delighted everyone, “with her extraordinary beauty and vivacity. She was commonly known as the leading beauty of the Russian Empire” (Antonov, 104). Politically, Elizabeth was seen as the heroine of the Russian cause as was attributed to her, “steady appreciation of Russian interests, and her determination to promote them at all hazards” (Rice, pg 121). Russia under Elizabeth’s rule reasserted her power over foreign repression as
Before tracing the Liza name in the Russian texts, it is important to better understand the character traits and lives of the empresses after whom this name takes. The more significant of these being Queen Elizabeth of Russia as it was not long after her reign that Karamzin wrote Poor Liza. Elizabeth was born to Peter I of Russia and Catherine I of Russia; however due to the fact that her parents’ marriage was not publically acknowledged at the time of her birth, this would be a detail used to challenge her legitimacy to the throne by political opponents (Antonov, 104).In her outward appearance, Elizabeth delighted everyone, “with her extraordinary beauty and vivacity. She was commonly known as the leading beauty of the Russian Empire” (Antonov, 104). Politically, Elizabeth was seen as the heroine of the Russian cause as was attributed to her, “steady appreciation of Russian interests, and her determination to promote them at all hazards” (Rice, pg 121). Russia under Elizabeth’s rule reasserted her power over foreign repression as
Cited: Antonov, B. I., and Kenneth MacInnes. Russian Tsars: [the Rurikids, the Romanovs. St. Petersburg: Ivan Fedorov, 2005. Print. Coughlan, Robert. Elizabeth and Catherine: Empresses of All the Russias. London: Macdonald and Jane 's, 1975. Print. Gogolʹ, Nikolaĭ Vasilʹevich, Constance Garnett, and Clifford Odets. Dead Souls. New York: Modern Library, 1936. Print. Griboyedov, Aleksandr Sergeyevich. Aleksandr Griboedov 's Woe from Wit: A Commentary and Translation. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2005. Print. Karamzin, Nikolaĭ Mikhaĭlovich, and Henry M. Nebel. Selected Prose of N.M. Karamzin. Evanston: Northwestern UP, 1969. Print. Krymow, Vincenzina. Mary 's Flowers: Gardens, Legends & Meditations. Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger, 1999. Print. Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich, and Paul Debreczeny. The Captain 's Daughter and Other Stories. London: David Campbell, 1992. Print. Rice, Tamara Talbot. Elizabeth, Empress of Russia. New York: Praeger, 1970. Print.