Silver Age - Russian Literary Trends and Schools

Author: Zhang Bing/Nationality: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Giptyus was not only a poet but also a Russian female philosopher. She particularly emphasized the "inexpressibility" of poetry, meaning that a person's philosophical views could never be fully expressed. She advocated for "aristocratic politics," which meant that society should be ruled by outstanding individuals, geniuses, heroes, masters, and creators. The two major elements of Giptyus's metaphysics were freedom and love. She believed that loving oneself meant striving to realize the divine image within oneself, thereby fulfilling the absolute significance of one's individuality. Only after passing all the tests of loving oneself could a truly free self emerge, with the right to say "you" to others, and to reveal the equality between "you" and "me" in doing so. "Without love" was equivalent to "not living" for her, because love was, to her, life itself, imbued with "immortality." However, true love was impossible without freedom, equality, and loyalty to the truth. Giptyus's prose was rich in philosophical depth and a call for the "reassessment of values." Yet, she held Russian intellectuals in high regard. She said that the vast majority of Russian intellectuals were willing to endure the greatest suffering, gritting their teeth, "shouldering the heavy cross of life." At the 1928 Congress of Russian Emigre Writers in Belgrade, the Melezhkovskys were awarded the Alexander King First Eagle Medal by the conference for their defense of freedom. At the meeting, Giptyus called on Russian emigre writers to unite and protect their "body and soul." She remained as concerned with her homeland as ever. She claimed that protecting Russian culture, the breath of the people, was her sacred duty to her country. Because culture, this great value, was entirely woven from the spirit of freedom. Most of Giptyus's literary criticism essays were published in the magazine The New Path. In 1908, a standalone edition of Literary Diary was published, and it has never been reprinted since. As a result, people have long had limited knowledge of Giptyus as a literary critic. Her critical essays reflected her and Melezhkovsky's idea of renewing Russia with a new Christianity. The pen name "Klen Ant" she chose was deliberately provocative—she disliked compromise, as she believed it meant dullness and mediocrity. Like her poetry, personal and social issues are closely intertwined in Literary Diary. In her essays, she spoke candidly about contemporary literature, drama, philosophy, and religious issues. Even from the titles of her articles, one can see the breadth of her topics: Bread for Survival, Contemporary Art, On Drama, Decadence and Sociability, The Prose of the Poet, On the Edge of a Knife, Paris Photographs. The book is filled with a profound sense of historicalism, as the author believed that all the past and history were contemporary issues, and that anyone who discussed everything from a modern perspective would become an inspiration for the future. Therefore, the author refused to revise any of the punctuation marks in the book. Of course, as a religious philosopher, Giptyus. She opposed "art for art's sake" and also discussed life, death, and faith from a philosophical perspective, because "a person lives or is still able to live because the human within them is still alive." The book also reflects the characteristic of a religious philosopher who tends to discuss issues from abstract ethical and historical rational perspectives, which is why terms like "God" and "faith" frequently appear in her writing. P12-13