Female images in the poetry of V.Y. Bryusov and S. Mallarmé

• Ли Полина Викторовна

  Polina V. Li. Vladivostok State University. Vladivostok. Russia

Abstract. Throughout the development of world literature, the image of a woman played an important role in the artwork. This article examines how female images function in the poetry of two leaders of symbolism – Russian and French – Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov and Stéphane Mallarmé. The analysis of the embodiment of female images in the works of Stéphane Mallarmé and Valery Bryusov is especially significant for several reasons. First of all, both poets were the founders of symbolism, and Bryusov, in the early period of his career, was inspired by the decadence poetry, Mallarmé in particular. In addition, it is impossible to deny both authors’ contribution to the world literature – Mallarmé was proclaimed the prince of poets, and Bryusov was called the master of Russian symbolism. To date, there are a number of studies devoted to their artwork; Mallarmé’s and Bryusov’s compositions have been translated into many languages, but even today they attract the attention of researchers all over the world. Nevertheless, there are still some issues to be explored. Since womеn’s status and position in society
have changed over time, and various countries have got quite different view on the woman, it is interesting to consider the embodiment of female images in the same time layer and the same literary movement, but on the material of different cultures. The purpose of this research is to highlight the peculiarities of the representation of female images in Russian and French symbolism, and also to identify the
cultural dialogue between the poetry of Russia and France at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries.
Keywords: female images, Russian symbolism, French symbolism, poetry, Mallarmé, Bryusov.