them to write only those appropriate to poetesses. For example,
Shakhova’s “K zhenshchinam poetam” (To women poets, 1845 ):
!
!
[...........]
, ,
u u u
,—
u . [... .]
h
(Sisters! A fatal lot!
[............]
On our brow the laurel crown
Presses, pricks and constrains us,
The stern mind exults,
The woman’s heart grieves. [.. .])or Teplova’s “Sovet” (Advice, 1860 ):
u,
,
,
u u !
;
" e! #—
#
!h
(Throw away your lyre, throw it away and don’t play any more.
And your beautiful, inspired songs
Carefully hide in the depths of your soul;
Poetry is a dangerous gift for a maiden!)or Rostopchina’s “Kak dolzhny pisat’ zhenshchiny” (How women
should write, 1840 ):
# $$, u
"
#
[. ................]
%
u$ $
!
&,
#,
;
[. ................]
! # u
#, [... .]h
(But I only like it when the shy woman singer
Hasn’t entirely given away her best dreams,
[.................]
When she has bashfully hidden and covered
The story of dear love and sweet tears;
[.................]
Yes! A woman’s soul must shine in the shadows. [.. .])40 Literary Conventions