Zinaida Gippius: biography, interesting facts, photo

Zinaida Nikolaevna Gippius is a famous Russian poetess, writer and literary critic. After reading this article, you will get acquainted with her life, as well as with the creative heritage that Zinaida Gippius left to the descendants.

Date of birth of the poetess - November 8, 1869. She was born in the city of Belevo, Tula Province. Her father - a nobleman, Russified by the German, at one time was a famous lawyer. According to her mother, the Russian poetess and writer Zinaida Gippius is the granddaughter of the police chief from Yekaterinburg. Education Gippius was not systematic, despite the fact that from a young age she read a lot.

Z. Gippius and D. Merezhkovsky

In 1889 Zinaida Nikolayevna married a famous poet D.S. Merezhkovsky. She left Tiflis and moved with him to St. Petersburg. It was in this city that her debut as a poet was held a year earlier. For 52 years she lived with her husband Zinaida Gippius. An interesting biography of this woman attracts connoisseurs not only of her own creativity, but also of her husband's creativity. It's no wonder, after all, Zinaida Gippius lived with him for a long time, she said, "not parting ... not for a single day."

"Decadent Madonna"

In the early poems of our heroine, S.Ya. Nadson. However, Zinaida Gippius quickly overcame it. Biography of her already from an early age is marked by the creation of independent works. Participants in the literary life of the two capitals of Russia at the turn of the century considered the writer's work to be the embodiment of decadence, and her very own - the "decadent Madonna". So it began to be called since 1895, when the "Dedication" was published. "I love myself as God" - this phrase Zinaida Gippius liked to repeat from her. Biography of the poetess is very interesting from the point of view of changing masks, roles. Not only the image of the "decadent Madonna" was skillfully built by Gippius herself and was introduced into the consciousness of connoisseurs of poetry. Zinaida Nikolaevna tried on herself a few more roles. We suggest you get acquainted with them.

Changing roles

Zinaida Gippius is a poet who carefully thought through her literary and social behavior. She periodically changed roles. So, before the revolution of 1905, for about 15 years, the poet propagandized sexual emancipation. At that time she was carrying the "cross of sensuality" Zinaida Gippius. Creativity and biography of the poetess reflect her position. She wrote about her view of life, about the "cross of sensuality" in 1893 in her diary. After that she became an opponent of the "teaching church". In her diary in 1901, she wrote that "sin is only one - self-control." In the period from 1901 to 1904, Gippius was the organizer of religious and philosophical meetings, at which the program of "neo-Christianity" was presented, which corresponded to the views of her husband, Dmitry Merezhkovsky. Zinaida Gippius, whose biography shows the multifaceted nature of her personality, also considered herself a champion of the spirit revolution, which is contrary to the opinion of the "herd community".

House of Muruzi, relationship with AA. Block

The house of Muruzi, which occupied the Merezhkovsky, became an important center of the public and religious and philosophical life of Petersburg. His visit was compulsory for young writers and thinkers gravitating toward symbolism. The authority of Gippius in the association that developed around Merezhkovsky was unquestionable. Most of its participants believed that it was Zinaida Nikolaevna who played the main role in any of his undertakings. However, almost all felt dislike for Gippius, because the poet was distinguished by intolerance, arrogance, and also often experimented with people. Relations between her and AA. The block became a special page in the history of Russian symbolism. The first publication of the Bloc (in the journal "New way") was held with her assistance. But this did not prevent the sharp conflicts between them in the future, which were caused by the fact that they differed in different ways about the appointment of the poet and the essence of artistic creativity.

Two collections of poems

The book entitled "Collection of Poems, 1889-1903" was published in 1904 by Zinaida Gippius. Biography of the poetess in a few years was marked by a new collection. In 1910 a second book appeared, in which the works created in the period from 1903 to 1909 were presented. The publication of 1904 was a great event in the life of Russian poetry. I. Annensky, responding to her, wrote that the work of Zinaida Nikolaevna represented the entire 15-year history of Russian lyrical modernism. The main theme of her works, according to Annensky, is "the agonizing swing of the pendulum in the heart." V.Ya. Bryusov, a fan of Gippius's creativity, especially noted the "invincible truthfulness" with which the poet fixes emotional states, shows the life of her "captive soul".

Abroad

In 1905, there was a revolution that contributed to the strengthening of the moods that Zinaida Gippius owned. Merezhkovsky decided to go abroad. Between 1906 and 1908 they were in Paris. Here, the couple became friends with emigrant revolutionaries, among whom was B.V. Savinkov, whom Zinaida Nikolaevna helped in his literary experiments. In 1908 the Merezhkovskys returned to their homeland. Here they participated in a certain religious and philosophical society, which included Blok, Berdyaev, V.I. Ivanov.

Literary critic

Zinaida Gippius as a critic is known under the pseudonym Anton Krainy. In the early 1900s she was a preacher of the program of symbolism, as well as philosophical ideas on the basis of which this program was built. As a literary critic, Gippius was often published in the magazines "Russian Wealth" and "Libra". The best articles the writer selected for the book "Literary Diary", created in 1908. It should be said that Zinaida Gippius (whose short biography and creativity confirm this) assessed the state of contemporary domestic art culture as a whole negatively. This situation, in her opinion, was connected with the collapse of social ideals and the crisis of the religious foundations with which the 19th century lived. Gippius believed that the vocation of the artist, which modern literature could not comprehend, is a direct and active impact on life, which should be "ohristianitsya", because there is no other way out of the spiritual and ideological impasse. These concepts of the poet are aimed against writers who joined the publishing house Znanie, directed by M. Gorky, and against literature that relied on the traditions of classical realism.

Reflection of the views of Gippius in literary creation

The drama of the heroine of our article contains the same challenge to the ideas that are based on the outdated understanding of humanism and belief in liberalism. Here it is necessary to note the "Green Ring" created in 1916. This position was also reflected in her stories, collected in 5 collections. In 1911, Zinaida Gippius wrote the novel "Devil's Doll", which describes the failure of beliefs in improving society peacefully and in social progress.

Attitude to the October Revolution and its reflection in creativity

By the October Revolution, which occurred in 1917, Zinaida Gippius was hostile and uncompromising. A brief biography of the poetess of future years is closely connected with this event. The moods that controlled it were reflected in Gippius's book The Last Poems, 1914-1918, published in 1918, and also in the St. Petersburg Diaries, which were partially published in the 1920s in emigre periodicals, and then published in English (In 1975) and in Russian (in 1982).

And in the diary entries of Gippius of this time, and in poetry (published in 1922, the book "Poems, Diary of 1911-1921"), and in the literary-critical articles placed in the newspaper "Common cause", the eschatological note prevails. Zinaida Nikolaevna believed that Russia was irretrievably lost. She spoke of the coming of the kingdom of antichrist. The poet claimed that the brutality was raging on the ruins of a culture that had collapsed in 1917. The diaries became a chronicle of the spiritual and physical dying of the old world. To them, Zinaida Gippius was regarded as a literary genre, which has one unique feature - the ability to capture and convey "the very flow of life." Letters fix trivia, "disappeared from memory," according to which later descendants will make a reliable picture of the events that have become a tragedy in the history of the country.

The severance of relations with those who adopted the revolution

Hate for the revolution in Zinaida Gippius was so strong that the poet decided to break off relations with all those who accepted it - with Bryusov, Blok, A. Bely. In 1925, the memoir cycle "Living Faces" appeared, the basis of the inner story of which was the history of this gap, as well as the reconstruction of ideological clashes that led to the events of October 1917. The revolution led to the inevitable confrontation of former allies in the literary field. The very revolution is described by Zinaida Gippius (in defiance of Blok, who saw in it a cleansing hurricane and an explosion of elements) as "boredom shocking" and a series of monotonous days, their "stiff choking." However, these everyday life were so monstrous that Zinaida Nikolayevna had a desire to "go blind and deaf". "Huge madness" lies at the root of what is happening, as the poet thought. The more important, in her opinion, to keep "a solid memory" and "sound mind".

Creativity of the emigrant period

During the period of emigration, the creativity of Gippius begins to fade. Zinaida Nikolaevna is becoming increasingly convinced that the poet can not work while away from his homeland: "heavy cold" reigns in his soul, she is dead, like a "killed hawk". The last metaphor is key in the final collection of poems "Shining", created in 1938. In it, the motives of loneliness are predominant, the poetess sees everything with the eye of "walking by" (these words are included in the title of important poems in the late works of Gippius, printed in 1924). The poet tries to reconcile with the world before a close farewell to him, but these attempts are replaced by a position of irreconcilability with evil and violence. Bunin, referring to the style of Zinaida Gippius, who does not recognize the undisguised emotionality and is often built on oxymorons, called the poet's work "electric poems." Reviewing the "Radiance", Khodasevich wrote that the "poetic soul" Gippius fights against them with a "neo-ethical mind."

The "green lamp"

You have already seen the organizational skills that Zinaida Gippius possessed. Biography, interesting facts and creativity are largely related to her social activities, which lasted almost to the death of the poetess. On her initiative, a society was founded under the name "Green Lamp", which existed from 1925 to 1940. The purpose of its creation is the unification of various literary circles that found themselves in emigration, provided that they shared that view on the vocation of Russian culture abroad of Russia, which Gippius formulated early in the activity of this circle. She believed that it is necessary to learn the true freedom of speech and opinions, and this can not be done if we follow the "covenants" of an obsolete liberal-humanistic tradition. However, it should be noted that the "Green Lamp" was not free from ideological intolerance. As a result, numerous conflicts arose among its participants.

The book about Merezhkovsky, written by Zinaida Gippius (biography)

Zinaida Nikolaevna briefly reviewed the work. It remains only to talk about her last book, which unfortunately remained unfinished, as well as the last years of the poet's life. Dmitry Merezhkovsky died in 1941. The death of her husband was hard survived by Zinaida Nikolaevna. After his death, she was ostracized, the cause of which was the ambiguous position she occupied with regard to fascism.

The last years of her life, Gippius gave up work on her husband's biography. It was published in 1951. A significant part of the book devoted to Dmitry Sergeyevich - about his ideological evolution, as well as the history of the activity of Religious and Philosophical Meetings. September 9, 1945, Zinaida Gippius died. Her poetry still lives in the hearts of many connoisseurs of her work.