Nadezhda Dmitrievna Khvoshchinskaia
Nadezhda Dmitrievna Khvoshchinskaia was a notable Russian novelist born in 1824 in Riazan, Russia. Coming from a gentry family that faced financial difficulties after her father's loss of a civil service job, Khvoshchinskaia turned to writing as a means to support her family. Her literary contributions spanned various genres, including fiction, poetry, and literary criticism, with a particular emphasis on politically motivated themes and gender inequities. One of her significant works, "Bratets" (1858), critiques the inheritance laws of her time by illustrating the struggles of women facing financial deprivation due to a male-dominated legal system. Throughout her life, she continued to write, even after the deaths of her father and brother, to provide for her family. Khvoshchinskaia remained unmarried, often seen as too intellectual for romantic pursuits, and her efforts to support her relatives affected her health. In 1884, she moved to St. Petersburg following her mother's death and passed away there five years later at the age of sixty-five. Her works remain a reflection of the social and political challenges faced by women in 19th-century Russia.
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Nadezhda Dmitrievna Khvoshchinskaia
- Born: May 20, 1824
- Birthplace: Riazan, Russia
- Died: June 8, 1889
- Place of death: St. Petersburg, Russia
Biography
Nadezhda Dmitrievna Khvoshchinskaia, a nineteenth century novelist, was born in 1824, in Riazan, Russia, the oldest of four children. Her family was from the gentry class but became impoverished when her father lost his civil service position. For this reason, Khvoshchinskaia began writing to support her family. Her writing was intellectual and artistic and covered a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, literary and art criticism, translation, and children’s literature.
Khvoshchinskaia was best known for her novels. These works generally incorporated politically motivated themes and often commented on the gender inequities of her time. An example of Khvoshchinskaia’s concern with gender biases can be seen in her novel Bratets (1858). This novel, which depicted a greedy brother who squandered away the family inheritance while his sisters lived in poverty, was a political satire on Russia’s legal inheritance system.
After her father’s death in 1865, Khvoshchinskaia continued to write to support her mother and sisters as well as herself. Later, after the death of her brother, she also supported his wife and children. Khvoshchinskaia never married as she was considered too intellectual to attract suitors.
Her constant struggle to support such a large family left Khvoshchinskaia in poor health. After her mother’s death in 1884, Khvoshchinskaia left Riazan and moved to St. Petersburg. She died five years later in St. Petersburg at the age of sixty-five.