REVIEW OF ALEKSANDRA KOLLONTAY’S NOVEL “LOVE OF THE WORKER BEES” WITH RESPECT TO FEMINIST LITERATURE THEORY
ALEKSANDRA KOLLONTAY ‘IN İŞÇİ ARILARIN AŞKI ROMANININ FEMİNİST EDEBİYAT KURAMLARINA GÖRE İNCELENMESİ

Author : Burcu AŞKIN
Number of pages : 203-212

Abstract

In this study, one of the important writers in the Russian woman literature, Aleksandra Kollontay’s feminist novel called “Love of the Worker Bees” will be reviewed. Problem of the workwomen in Russian literature has been narrated over the system before and after the Bolshevik Revolution in the novel of “Love of the Worker Bees” of Aleksandra Kollontay, who is a politician, diplomat, revolutionist, propagandist, feminist, free love defender, dissident and attractive. Approaches of traditional patriarchal structure marginalizing, pushing the women into second position and their subconscious cause, gains and losses the 1917 Revolution brought to women have been evaluated from the perspective of feminist criticism. Criticism of the feminist literature questions built-in perspective, especially values, patterns reflecting patriarchal standpoint in culture and literature and draws attention to the other side of the issue. “Feminist Literature Theory” reawakened also together with revolutionary and anti-system social movements rising in the whole World in 1960s and gained momentum. Theory of criticism intending to show a stance against reproducing and confirming the attitude of patriarchal order which marginalised the woman at the beginning through literary works in the field of literature, began to emphasise also other questions within ‘the boundaries of the literary world’ multiplying and diversifying its aims through time. The theory which moved forward in the direction of the aim for women to establish ‘a language’ and ‘a literary tradition’ of their own, has emphasised also establishing a new language and attitude peculiar to women against passivizing them in the field of available ‘power relations’ and ‘identities’. Alexandra Korontay, one of the important feminist authors of the Russian Woman Literature, has established a unique language and literary attitude of her own. Kolontay’s novel ‘Love of the Worker Bees’ gives an extraordinary living pattern of the Russian people before and after Bolshevik revolution. The author, who bravely delineates private and intimate relations, handles also man-woman relations, woman’s passion and fear through characters in the novel, yet with a brave language in a way to provide the reader to inquire and discuss. Kolontay, in her novel she wrote just after the Bolshevik revolution, opens issues of femininity, love, loyalty, while reflecting also the change process starting right after the revolution at the same time. The author who criticises the role, stance and perception the male-dominance view casts on woman over the main young woman character in the work; emphasises that social and psychologically liberated woman the ‘Feminist literature theory’ intends will be the biggest power against male- dominant darkness of any.

Keywords

Aleksandra Kolontay, Feminism, Workwomen, Marriage and Free Love, Feminist Literature Theory and Wom

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