Browsing by Subject "double burden"

This thesis explores the public response to Natalya Baranskaya’s novella "A Week Like Any Other", which was first published in 1969. The novella raised the question of the persistence of gender inequality in Soviet society, embodied in women’s ‘double burden’. By analysing unpublished readers’ letters, this thesis provides a detailed discussion of the attitudes toward gender roles and femininity in the Brezhnev period. The research is multidisciplinary; it spans social and cultural history, gender studies, and literary studies. The thesis synthesises the concepts of gender contract, subjectivity, and emotional communities, thereby contributing significantly to our understanding of how late Soviet society functioned. The study applies the inductive thematic analysis of women’s letters. The analysis reveals the centrality of literature for female readers. They perceived it as a means to influence political decisions, viewing writers and editors as mediators between citizens and power. The study finds that while women expressed dissatisfaction with their ‘double burden,’ they were not willing to give up paid work or motherhood. They also recognised the injustice in the gender division of labour but did not see the opportunity to negotiate it with their male partners. In their view, the issue of gender inequality could only be resolved from above, or it was considered insurmountable. The thesis underscores that work and belonging to a collective were essential for Soviet female subjectivity. The study also shows that female readers strongly identified with other women, creating a sense of emotional community.