ANALYSIS OF IMAGES OF ABUSIVE MOTHERS ON EXAMPLES OF TWO NOVELS THE TIME: NIGHT AND OUR CIRCLE WRITTEN BY L. PETRUSHEVSKAYA

Abstract

Power relations, analysis, and interpretation have been a research field of great interest for psychologists, sociologists, linguists, and other scholars. Even Sigmund Freud said that desire for power might be interpreted as a manifestation of libido. This research interest centered around two controversial novels of L. Petrushevskaya, The Time: Night (Время ночь, 1992) and Our Circle (Свой круг, 1988). It explained the meaning of female power relations in the Soviet family and the definition of women’s dominance in the family. This study aimed to investigate the idea of power relations through the mother’s image in the prose of Soviet and Russian post-war female writer Lyudmila Petrushevskaya (1938-); to understand its connection with mother’s love. Subjects of this study were novels Our Circle and The Time: Night. They were chosen because of the following reasons. First, the author raises social topics and talks about domestic violence in these novels. Second, the author explores the psychological characteristics of women (=mothers). In this research, the following methods were employed. The language and images of mothers presented in prose will be examined through the textual analysis research method. On top of it, this research represents the systematic analysis of the narrative patterns through which motherhood was studied. Due to the chosen approach, the following conclusion was made. An image of a powerful or abusive woman (mother) might be interpreted as a destructive woman, whose actions lead to catharsis, and to her daughter/son’s freedom. On the other hand, it can be interpreted as an act of pure mother’s love.