IN SEARCH OF SELF-IDENTITY AS A WOMAN PARTICIPANT IN THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR: LIUSIA ARGUTINSKAIA’S NOVEL OGNENNYI PUT' (THE FIERY PATH, 1932)

Abstract

<p>The paper analyzes Argutinskaia’s novel Ognennyi put' (The Fiery Path, 1932). The significance of this text lies in its autobiographical heroine, a participant in the Russian Civil War, and its focus on the issues faced by women at the front, which is relatively uncommon in the literature on this war. Utilizing feminist literary studies and traditional philological analysis, the research explores how Argutinskaia’s narrative liberates women from restrictive gender roles and empowers them to construct new identities. A number of different military femininities are presented in the novel: the “female masculinity” of a woman soldier, the military femininity of a young girl soldier, and the expanded femininity of the Red nurses. As a participant in this civil war, the author opts for the genre of the autobiographical novel rather than the traditional autobiography. This choice can be attributed to the hardships she experienced and the lack of available models on which to base such an unconventional experience. The novel centers on the heroine’s reflection on the breakdown of the usual foundations of society. While in this respect Argutinskaia’s work is close to the literature of the 1920s and 1930s that depicts a typical intellectual who joined the revolution, the feminine gender of her protagonist provides an unusual perspective. The issue of gender-based violence in warfare, as depicted in the novel, is emphasized in this article. By situating the work within the broader literary context of its time, this article aims to shed light on the significance of women’s military narratives and the need for their recognition in literary discourse.<br></p>