Mordovtseva, whose son died in the Russo-Turkish War, questioned
militarism, and her work appeared at a much later date.^13
Finally, as regards men poets’ self-representation in terms of sexualprowess, it would have been impossible for women to appropriate this
image at a time when society so strictly limited their sexual expression.
Nonetheless, several created unconventional male muse figures with
whom a sexual relationship is implied—although these relationships
generally seem marital in contrast to men poets’ pre- or extramarital
muse relationships. Bakunina in one unpublished poem alludes to her
chertenok(little demon), who distracts her from sewing by tempting her
with his lyre. In an unpublished play he appears on stage as her constant
companion. Khvoshchinskaia’s muse is a more frightening prizrak
(phantom), who seems to represent a past painful romance. Teplova,
Zhadovskaia, and Bakunina all write about their genii(genius).^14
The scholar Mary DeShazer has suggested that a male muse posesproblems for a woman poet that a female muse does not present for a
man. “While [the man poet] asserts his authority over the muse by nam-
ing and subordinating her,” she writes, “the woman poet may feel over-
powered and violated by her ‘authoritative’ masculine muse” (Inspir-
ing Women, 28 ). “Will a patriarchal muse inspire or control, aid or
appropriate her writing?” ( 3 ). The woman poet, DeShazer suggests, may
have difficulty “separating the male muse from other intimidating and
debilitating male forces, those that limit rather than expand her female
identity” ( 30 ). These Russian women poets seem to have experienced
similar problems with male muses. Kul’man, for example, evokes
Anacreon as vengeful antimuse in “K Anakreonu” (To Anacreon, 1839 ),
her introduction to her translations of his verse. The poem begins:
' $!
!
#! #
(
# .
h
(Dear Anacreon!
You are angry! Today
I had a terrifying dream
About you.)Kul’man then attempts to persuade Anacreon to approve her translation
of his work. And as we shall see, Pavlova similarly evoked another dead
man poet, Pushkin, as an oppressive antimuse.^15
Indeed, some of these women poets chose a female or ambivalently42 Literary Conventions