Passion, Humiliation, Revenge: Hatred In Man-woman Relationships In The 19th And 20th Century Russian Novel

PassionHumiliationPODLITH.qxd 7/10/08 3:09 PM Page 1 LAPIDUS Literature | Slavic Studies Lapidus shows how the man sees himself as a highly spiritual being and finds it difficult to come to terms with his sexual nature. She argues that this denial of desire leads the man to take out his frustration with himself on the woman, projecting all of his faults and guilt onto her. When the woman brings the male protagonist low, his thirst for revenge becomes a powerful driving force in his life that eventually brings about his downfall. This book will be of interest to those studying in the areas of Russian literature, psychology, and gender studies. Rina Lapidus is associate professor of comparative literature at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Passion, Humiliation, Revenge Passion, Humiliation, Revenge reveals the phenomenon in Russian prose in which a male protagonist finds himself perpetuating a cycle of passion, humiliation, and revenge in his relationships with women. By examining the mental and emotional state of the male protagonist who finds himself in a sexual situation, Rina Lapidus explores how his passion for a woman leads the man into an encounter that causes him humiliation and ends up eliciting a powerful desire on his part to punish the woman who initially arouses his erotic feeling. The male protagonist directs his fury at the woman, seeking vengeance because of the shame he has suffered. Passion, Humiliation, Revenge Hatred in Man-Woman Relationships in the 19th and 20th Century Russian Novel RINA LAPIDUS For orders and information please contact the publisher Lexington Books A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 1-800-462-6420 • www.lexingtonbooks.com ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-2747-6 ISBN-10: 0-7391-2747-0 Passion, Humiliation, Revenge Passion, Humiliation, Revenge Hatred in Man-Woman Relationships in the 19th and 20th Century Russian Novel Rina Lapidus LEXINGTON BOOKS A divison of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, MD 20706 Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2008 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lapidus, Rina. Passion, humiliation, revenge : hatred in man-woman relationships in the 19th and 20th century Russian novel / Rina Lapidus. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-2747-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7391-2747-0 (cloth : alk. paper) eISBN-13: 978-0-7391-2998-2 eISBN-10: 0-7391-2998-8 1. Russian literature—19th century—History and criticism. 2. Russian literature— 20th century—History and criticism. 3. Man-woman relationships in literature. 4. Sex in literature. 5. Revenge in literature. I. Title. PG3011.L29 2008 891.73'3093543—dc22 2008016333 Printe