Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature

For a Crust of Bread

For a Crust of Bread Cover

Selected Prose Fiction by

Olena Pchilka (1849-1930)
Nataliya Kobrynska (1855-1920)
Lyubov Yanovska (1861-1933)
Olha Kobylianska (1863-1942)
Yevheniya Yaroshynska (1868-1904)
Hrytsko Hryhorenko (1867-1924)
Lesya Ukrainka (1871-1913)

Translated by Roma Franko
Edited by Sonia Morris

©1998 Language Lanterns Publications
ISBN 0-9683899-5-3 (v.6)

The sixth volume in a series devoted to English translations of selected literary works of Ukrainian women authors from 1850 to the present day.

In this volume, seven of the authors from volumes I through IV explore the intersect between marriage and social values in the class society of the day.

Marriage was the pivotal event in life and, for women in particular, it was the primary determinant of the quality of their lives. A young woman's social status, appearance, dowry, and anticipated inheritance not only affected her "marriageability," but also shaped her view of the appropriateness of her suitors. Men in impoverished circumstances were also not immune to the negative effects of the social expectations surrounding marriage, and on occasion compromised their personal happiness to maintain their position in society or to ensure a degree of financial security.

The seven authors featured in this volume are not equally talented or skilled. What they have in common is an appreciation of the power of literature as a vehicle of social activism, and collectively they document the debilitating social structures and values of the separate worlds of the peasantry and the privileged, address matter of gender that cut across class divisions, and explore the power and often devastating consequences of social conditioning. Moreover, whatever the subject matter, they observe and interpret experience from a female perspective, and demonstrate a keen sensitivity to both the promise and human cost of change.

For a Crust of Bread Contents:

Olena Pchilka Biographical Sketch

Nataliya Kobrynska Biographical Sketch

Lyubov Yanovska Biographical Sketch

Olha Kobylianska Biographical Sketch

Yevheniya Yaroshynska Biographical Sketch

Hrytsko Hryhorenko Biographical Sketch

Lesya Ukrainka Biographical Sketch

 

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