A review of Anna Labzina's memoir of life:days of a Russian Noblewoman - Essay Example

A Review of Anna Labzina's Memoir of Life Days of a Russian Noblewoman Anna Labzina is an enlightened woman of the upper class and as depicted in her book she underscores the significance of literacy in the access to women’s comprehension of their own lives and managing their representation. Anna Labzina outlines her autobiographical experiences of the 18th century touching on the public spheres for instance, philanthropy, her own career, her husband’s form of oppression and representation of her mother with regard to future public responsibilities. Anna Labzina chooses to shape her mother’s lessons and childhood experiences to address the likelihood of women’s self realization via the different public sphere of philanthropy. Anna Lazbina (1758-1828), in her autobiography reproduces hagiographic means of impacting life as spiritual course, filled with barriers to one’s desirable quality. Anna Labzina sees men and women as fundamentally different as depicted by the experiences she outlines in her book. For instance Anna Labzina showcases her mother’s way of life which seems to consistently generate prospective destiny impacted on her. She outlines her mother with hesitant influence on her since she employs eccentric and harsh upbringing means on her. She showcases her mother with supernatural qualities and prophetic flair. On the other hand, Anna Labzina introduces her husband with bad morals for instance as cruel, secular person educated in biological science, filled with old educated principles, which he interprets on the subject of sexual liberation and which pose constant danger to her Christian principles. Her relationship with her husband in her marriage forms the center of the narrative. Anna Labzina is driven into marriage at 13 years of age for the reason that her incurably ill and rather religious mother felt gratified to provide for her future. Little did she known about the morality of her prospective son in law. Since the first day of their outrageous marriage, he tried to disgrace all basis of Lazbina’s Orthodox upbringing by attempting to enforce his own retrogressive way of life. Their marriage can be examined as a type of an academic test whereby Anna’s husband attempts to bring her to the new world of canal pleasures, in most cases aggressively and with no success in any way. Her religiosity and persistence would hardly be enough to protect her from the attacks of her husband. As a woman she struggles to break away from this form of oppression through the respect and high regard she obtains from engaging in philanthropic work picked from her mother. Strong protectors, her husband’s seniors help her through as a form of honor. Anna Labzina in her writing clearly outlines how women shape their own lives in the Russia of her time. Additionally, she showcases the extent which women are subjected to wishes of men and how they struggle to get out publicly from this kind of patriarchal entrapment. For example in her narrative she unveils her mother vividly and exceptionally. Labzina’s father passed on when she was 5 years old. Following this incident, her mother isolated herself and went to a hallucinatory condition where she claimed she can communicate with her late husband. This ended with a mysterious dream where an old man told her that she was in the real sense communicating with a monster and therefore rendering her a sinner who has no choice than to repent and change by altruistically dedicating her life to philanthropy. This was the start of Labzina’s training since she was always close to her mother and became an active person in helping the needy. This example indicates clearly how Labzina’s mother was behold to her husband’s wishes that go to an extent of manifesting in her dreams and further the implication of the man in her dreams compelling her to philanthropy in order to have her sins cleansed. On the other hand, it is vivid that Labzina cannot object to what her mother is doing and even end up doing the same, helping the needy. This can be seen in a religious view where, Labzina’s mother seeks to uphold religious virtues of being sin free and further from the perspective where women try to shape and control their lives. Labzina’s mother is seen using upbringing means that are cruel and eccentric in the verge of trying to build her endurance. Her food was completely ascetic in addition to her piece of clothing depicted as extremely rare. It is also interesting that Labzina indicates that she is aware that her mother seems odd but cannot show any signs of objection. On the other hand, she makes efforts to put in more prophetic qualities to her already supernatural mother who had conversed with the supernatural, and who sacrifices everything for philanthropic work. For example as seen in her writing, “Several people asked my mother why she was giving me such crude upbringing, but she always responded: "I don't know what her circumstances will be. Perhaps she will be poor, or she might marry someone with whom she will be obliged to travel. In that case she will not pester her husband, she will not know what caprice is, and she will be satisfied with everything. She will be able to endure anything, be it cold or filth, and she won't catch colds. If she ends up rich, then it will be easy for her to grow accustomed to the good life". It was as she had foreseen my fate, which held all these things in store for me. (Labzina, 7). Another fascinating upbringing is that one of Nadezhda Durova (1783-1866), the first woman in the Russian history to be honored the Cross of St. George. Nadezhda had to cross dress in order to turn out like an officer in the Napoleonic wars and her negative response towards feminine clothes turns out to be similar with the negative refusal of woman’s destiny manifested in her mother’s. This is vivid in her written texts My Childhood Years, an introduction to her military autobiography which is perceived as a written apology to the choice she made, if not undesirable by the early 19th century norms. Durova takes off her clothes is a river bank and rides off alone into the desired freedom in a male uniform. This is how she manages to shape her life in the Russia. Another interesting author is Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) a Russian poet who resulted into autobiographical prose in the 1930s due to existing problems and publishing difficulties she went through while in exile in Paris (Grelz 32). She mythologized and eternalized the life and frequent death of her loved ones in her writings. Similar to Durova’s mother, Tsvetaeva’s mother dreamt of having a son but only gave birth to a daughter. Their mothers are seen trying to shape their daughters to become people they were not destined to become. For instance as seen in Tsvetaeva’s writing, “Mother was happy about my good ear and involuntarily praised me for it, and then and there after every runaway "Good girl!" she would add coldly: "But then of course you're just incidental. A good ear comes from God." And that is the way it stayed in my mind for good, that I – am just incidental, that a good ear – comes from God.” In conclusion, the three examples of women and their mothers, whose representation in these texts exceeds documentary towards mythologization, shows their daughters 3 unlike paths towards public spheres of philanthropy (Labzina), military (Durova) and poetry (Tsvetaeva). Even in such cases where choice of career becomes motivated by predestination, role of mothers is diminished. However, mothers' eccentric means of bringing up tend to be shaped by their prophetic vision and their acts connected to their daughters' best interest. Not only do mothers present their daughters with ways or versions for self-realization, but their mythologized re-creation in these autobiographies has prospective apologetic applications. This is specifically valid in Durova's case, since she apparently has to find means to reunite with her socio historical situation to be able to publish such extraordinary military text in her life. Tsvetaeva's explicit statement that "after a mother like that I had only one alternative: to become a poet" (1983: 276) not in the slightest focuses to all scopes of mothers' mythologized narrative responsibilities in these writings. On the other hand, it without doubt underscores their significance in trying to shape and control their own lives in the Russia of their time. Works Cited Anna Labzina. Days of a Russian Noblewoman. The Memories of Anna Labzina, 1758-1821 Paperback, 202 Pages, Published 2001 by Northern Illinois University Press ISBN-13: 978-0-87580-589-4, ISBN: 0-87580-589-2 Durova, N. The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars (M. F. Zirin, Trans.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1988. Grelz, K. Beyond the Noise of Time: Readings of Marina Tsvetaeva's Memories of Childhood. Stockholm: Almqvist och Wiksell International. 2004. Read More