{"product_id":"possessed-women-witches-and-demons-in-imperial-russia-hardback-9780875802732","title":"Possessed; Women, Witches, and Demons in Imperial Russia (Hardback) 9780875802732","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003ePossessed\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eWomen, Witches, and Demons in Imperial Russia\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eChristine D. Worobec (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780875802732\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 1 February 2001\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e303 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.907 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Exceptionally well-researched and exhaustive.\"\u003cbr\u003e -Association for Women in Slavic Studies\u003cbr\u003e \"Worobec is at her best as a storyteller.... Her scholarship is marked by a meticulous reading of sources and a sensitivity to and respect for the people she studies.\"—Russian Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWomen known as \"shriekers\" howled, screamed, convulsed, and tore their clothes. Believed to be possessed by devils, these central figures in a cultural drama known as klikushestvo stirred various reactions among those who encountered them. While sympathetic monks and peasants tended to shelter the shriekers, others analyzed, diagnosed, and objectified them. The Russian Orthodox Church played an important role, for, while moving toward a scientific explanation for the behavior of these women, it was reluctant to abandon the ideas of possession and miraculous exorcism. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Possessed is the first book to examine the phenomenon of demon possession in Russia. Drawing upon a wide range of sources-religious, psychiatric, ethnographic, and literary-Worobec looks at klikushestvo over a broad span of time but focuses mainly on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when all of Russian society felt the pressure of modernization. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Worobec's definitive study is as much an account of perceptions of the klikushi as an analysis of the women themselves, for, even as modern rationalism began to affect religious belief in Russia, explanations of the shriekers continued to differ widely. Examining various cultural constructions, Worobec shows how these interpretations were rooted in theology, village life and politics, and gender relationships. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Engaging broad issues in Russian history, women's history, and popular religious culture, Possessed will interest readers across several disciplines. Its insights into the cultural phenomenon of possession among Russian peasant women carry rich implications for understanding the ways in which a complex society treated women believed to be out of control.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003cbr\u003e Confronting Klikushestvo: An Introduction \u003cbr\u003e 1. State and Church Perceptions \u003cbr\u003e The Legal Case \u003cbr\u003e Orthodoxy's Triumph over the Devil \u003cbr\u003e Scientific Rationalism and the Miraculous \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e 2. Peasant Views \u003cbr\u003e Popular Orthodoxy \u003cbr\u003e Witchcraft \u003cbr\u003e 3. Literary and Ethnographic Portrayals \u003cbr\u003e Romantic Images \u003cbr\u003e Images of Serfdome \u003cbr\u003e An Ethnographic-Historical Account \u003cbr\u003e Feodor Dostoevsky \u003cbr\u003e Leo Tolstoy \u003cbr\u003e The Dark Side of Peasant Beliefs \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e 4. Psychiatric Diagnoses \u003cbr\u003e The Search for Klikushi \u003cbr\u003e Scientific Rationalism versus. Popular Practices \u003cbr\u003e Hysteria versus. Somnambulism \u003cbr\u003e Mass Psychology \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e 5. Sorting through Multiple Realities \u003cbr\u003e Appendix 1: Database of Klikushi\/klikuny \u003cbr\u003e Appendix 2: Database of Witchcraft Cases \u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e Bibliography \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Northern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52584740389144,"sku":"9780875802732","price":30.37,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/possessed-women-witches-and-demons-in-imperial-russia-hardback-9780875802732","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}