Tolstoiâs Breasts or the Mammary Offensive

Helena Goscilo

Jump to Content

Tolstoiâs Breasts or the Mammary Offensive

äºTolstoi and the Evolution of His Artistic World

èèï¼

Helena Goscilo

Helena Goscilo
Search for other papers by Helena Goscilo in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

ç±»å:: ç« è

Page Range:: 69â83

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004465633_004

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

â¬42.00â¬35.00Â excl. VAT

Add to Cart

æ¾åè®¿é®ä»¤ç

Abstract

In this chapter, Helena Goscilo offers a trenchant overview of Tolstoiâs apparent obsession with aspects of the female form, analysing works from all periods. Goscilo acknowledges Tolstoiâs moralized preoccupation with the flesh and all its frailties. Moreover, his whole life, in both personal and literary terms, was marked by a battle with (or against?) sensual pleasure. From this general context stems her analysis of the moral significance with which Tolstoiâs oeuvre imbues the female upper body â specifically, breasts â through a technique of externalization that recalls the legibility theories of the eighteenth-century Swiss physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater. Famous illustrations of this âmoral significanceâ are the dyad of Natasha and Elena Kuragina in War and Peace, as well as aspects of Anna Karenina, with its equivalent censorious juxtaposition of Kitty and Anna. A later example, unsurprisingly, is to be found in The Kreutzer Sonata, where Tolstoi continues to denounce dresses that sell womenâs bodies âon the market of heterosexual relationsâ. Goscilo then proceeds to suggest that there is ample evidence that for Tolstoi breasts carry a special, morally-loaded significance, although she also finds its roots back in the medieval period. In conclusion, Goscilo locates Tolstoiâs fetishization of the breast within his more general demonization of female sexuality, which in turn is part of an âantiquated misogynistic scriptâ.

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share Link

Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004465633/BP000003.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Tolstoi and the Evolution of His Artistic World

ä¸ç¼ï¼ Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics, å·ï¼ 64and Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics Online, å·ï¼ 64

ISBN:: 9789004465633

åºçç¤¾:: Brill

å°å·åºçæ¥æ:: 23 Jul 2021

Subjects
- Literature and Cultural Studies
- Slavic and Eurasian Studies
  - Literature & Linguistics

Front Matter

Back Matter

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

	å¨é¨æé´	è¿å»ä¸å¹´	è¿å»30å¤©
æè¦æµè§æ¬¡æ°	3653	2543	31
å¨ææµè§æ¬¡æ°	21	9	0
PDFä¸è½½æ¬¡æ°	13	3	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

AppBar-Authors 2025

AppBar-Open Access 2025

AppBar-Product Information 2025

AppBar-Company 2025

AppBar-Contact 2025

Tolstoiâs Breasts or the Mammary Offensive

Abstract

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

Share Link

Tolstoi and the Evolution of His Artistic World

ç®å½

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

ç»è®¡æ°æ®

Tolstoiâs Breasts or the Mammary Offensive

å¼ç¨ä¿¡æ¯

ç»è®¡æ°æ®