Beauty is expressed more vividly: experts at the National Centre RUSSIA discuss how Ivan Yefremov portrayed women in his books
Strong, beautiful, wise and inspiring. Female characters occupy a special place in the works of science fiction writer and scientist Ivan Yefremov. More than any others, his heroines embody his vision of a harmonious person and the society of the future. Historian and writer Nikolai Smirnov discussed this at a meeting of the Literary Club "What to Read?!".
"Ivan Antonovich believed that beauty is expressed more distinctly and vividly in women, in accordance with the laws of psychophysiology and the laws of evolution that made one sex directly responsible for giving birth to new life. We tend to think that men are active, that through their activity they dominate and conquer, while women absorb the blows of fate, including those dealt by the aforementioned hero. In reality, however, a woman is essential for this hero to awaken — there is no other way," Nikolai Smirnov noted.
Writer Yevgeny Sazonov continued this idea by discussing the role of women in men’s lives.
"I would add a remark by the great Russian opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, who said that behind every great musician there is always a woman. It is either a wife who provides him with comfort or a mother with a belt. So, there is always a woman behind every man who has achieved even a modicum of success — even the most meagre success — because until a woman gives him a kick, he will not go off to conquer space. Space itself embodies the feminine principle, after all. Space itself embodies the feminine principle, after all," the expert emphasised.
The ideas and predictions of the great science fiction writer, author of the famous novels "The Razor’s Edge", "Thais of Athens" and others, were considered in relation to contemporary challenges, including the rapid development of artificial intelligence, at a meeting of the Literary Club "What to Read?!" held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 20 August. The meeting was hosted by Nikolai Zharinov, a philologist, cultural studies scholar, writer and renowned populariser of art and literature.
The Literary Club "What to Read?!" is an original educational project of the National Centre RUSSIA dedicated to the culture of reading and the public discussion of important contemporary issues. Meetings held as part of the club can be attended free of charge with advance registration on the russia.ru website. The current programme is available in the "Events" section.
