Zhukova Mariya Semyonovna (1804, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate — April 14 (26), 1855, Saratov) was a Russian writer and artist of the first half of the 19th century, the author of romantic novellas and travel sketches. She was born in Arzamas into the family of a district attorney, Semyon Semyonovich Zevakin; she spent her childhood in that town and in a village that belonged to her father.[1]
Origins and education
The Zevakin family was large and not wealthy. As a child, Mariya was taught by a deacon; she added to her knowledge through independent reading. A significant role in her education was played by her acquaintance with the Nizhny Novgorod landowning family of the Korsakovs: in their home the future writer, in all likelihood, studied foreign languages, painting, music, and literature together with the daughter of the household, who later became Princess S. A. Golitsyna, one of the best-educated women of her time.[1] Later Golitsyna patronized the writer and received her in her home in St. Petersburg.[1]
No later than 1822, Mariya Semyonovna married Razumnik Vasilyevich Zhukov, a Nizhny Novgorod landowner and elected district judge.[2] The marriage proved unhappy: around 1830 the couple separated. Zhukova placed her son in a gymnasium in Saratov, where her father was then living, and moved to St. Petersburg, where Semyon Semyonovich Zevakin was transferred for service that same year.[2]
Literary work
Zhukova took up writing in St. Petersburg. Her first publication was the story collection "Evenings on the Karpovka" (1837–1838), dedicated to Princess Golitsyna and published anonymously. The collection received high praise from V. G. Belinsky, who noted the author's ability to write in "the living language of the heart."[1] In 1838 Zhukova traveled to the south of France and to Italy for medical treatment; in 1839 her novella "The Falling Star" was published in Otechestvennye Zapiski (Notes of the Fatherland).[2] In 1840 she went abroad again; the result of this trip was the book "Sketches of Southern France and Nice. From Travel Notes" (1844), which Belinsky called the best book of the year.[2]
At the center of Zhukova's novellas is the fate of the Russian woman of her time: a poor ward in an aristocratic household, shattered personal happiness, the conflict between duty and feeling. The problem of social inequality and the ideas of women's emancipation run through her prose: in the novella "My Kursk Acquaintances" (1840) there is a direct call to give women "equal moral rights" with men.[1] Among her other novellas are "The Provincial Woman," "The Medallion," "Self-Sacrifice," and "The Black Demon" (all published around 1837–1840), as well as "The Mistake," "A Woman's Heart," "Lilies of the Valley," and "My Little Town."[2]
From 1843 Zhukova lived in Russia, alternating between St. Petersburg and Saratov, and contributed to Biblioteka dlya Chteniya (Library for Reading), Syn Otechestva (Son of the Fatherland), Literaturnaya Gazeta (Literary Gazette), and the almanacs Molodik, Utrennyaya Zarya (Morning Dawn), and Russkaya Beseda (Russian Conversation). Her later novellas — "Two Sisters" (1843), "A Dacha on the Peterhof Road" (1845), and "An Episode from the Life of a Country Lady" (1847) — were printed by Otechestvennye Zapiski; her last novella published in her lifetime, "Nadenka," was published by Sovremennik (The Contemporary). The novel "Two Fates" appeared posthumously.[2]
Artistic work
Besides literature, Zhukova also painted. During her St. Petersburg period she earned a living by making copies of paintings by famous artists at the Hermitage. In Saratov she compiled an album of local flora, which was donated to the Mariinsky Agricultural School.[2]
Arzamas Roots
Arzamas is the writer's birthplace and the town where her father served. A childhood spent in the provinces shaped the main themes of her prose: the charm and, at the same time, the insularity of Russian provincial life, and the position of women in society.[1] Maria Semyonovna died and was buried in Saratov on April 14 (26), 1855.[2]
Links
- Wikidata (Q4181437 — entry in the free knowledge base)
- VIAF (26661906 — union library catalog)
- ISNI (0000000045922691)
Sources
- db.rgub.ru — Zhukova Maria Semyonovna. Zhukova M. S.: Biobibliographic Reference
- names52.ru — Zhukova Maria Semyonovna
- region-nn.3dn.ru — Zhukova Maria Semyonovna — Biography