The (D)evolution of the Prostitute in Russian Beauty

Abstract

The article explores the post‐modernist representation of the prostitute to look at the ways in which the familiar tropes associated with the character are challenged and retooled. The article offers an in‐depth critique of Victor Erofeev's novel Russian Beauty. Erofeev is one of the most vocal advocates for innovations in Russia's literary style. Through a close examination of his text, the article concludes that despite the challenges to the standard language and tropes associated with the prostitute character, she ultimately retains her potent symbolic power, used in “new” literature in much the same was she was used in “old.”