1 hr 22 min
A Great Love (Part 1) - Alexandra Kollontai The Tolerant Left
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- Politics
CROSSOVER WITH OUR BFFs, RED BOOK CLUB!
(Special shout out to Connor for editing and putting together this great description!)
“All she wanted was to stand between him and the world, relieve him of his worries, help him bear his cross.” This week we're collaborating with our comrades from Red Book Club podcast to bring the first of two episodes covering 'A Great Love' by Alexandra Kollontai. In our first time discussing a work of fiction we found no lack of important subject matter to be gleaned from the text. Considered by many to be a representation of a relationship between Inessa Armand and Vladimir Lenin, this essential and heart-breaking text gives us a deep insight into the physical and emotional reality of women revolutionaries before the October revolution and the harmful and misogynistic behaviour of men which remains unchanged to the present day. This book, set in the world of revolutionaries exiled following the 1905 revolution, tells us the story of Natasha, an intelligent and dedicated party organiser, and her relationship with Semyon Semyonovich, a highly respected but deeply abusive official within the same party. Drawing from biographical experiences and those of her fellow comrades Kollontai paints a vivid picture of the profound pain and frustration which women suffered and suffer through in left-wing organising circles. From emotional abuse, dismissiveness and the downplaying of achievements to the ideas of transactional relationships, control in the institution of marriage and more. Kollontai's moving text gives us space to investigate our own participants' experiences of abuse and left-wing misogyny as well offering a chance to create ways to overcome problems such as abuse on the left, how to deal with the work of historically problematic men and how we can acknowledge our faults in order to learn and grow.
CROSSOVER WITH OUR BFFs, RED BOOK CLUB!
(Special shout out to Connor for editing and putting together this great description!)
“All she wanted was to stand between him and the world, relieve him of his worries, help him bear his cross.” This week we're collaborating with our comrades from Red Book Club podcast to bring the first of two episodes covering 'A Great Love' by Alexandra Kollontai. In our first time discussing a work of fiction we found no lack of important subject matter to be gleaned from the text. Considered by many to be a representation of a relationship between Inessa Armand and Vladimir Lenin, this essential and heart-breaking text gives us a deep insight into the physical and emotional reality of women revolutionaries before the October revolution and the harmful and misogynistic behaviour of men which remains unchanged to the present day. This book, set in the world of revolutionaries exiled following the 1905 revolution, tells us the story of Natasha, an intelligent and dedicated party organiser, and her relationship with Semyon Semyonovich, a highly respected but deeply abusive official within the same party. Drawing from biographical experiences and those of her fellow comrades Kollontai paints a vivid picture of the profound pain and frustration which women suffered and suffer through in left-wing organising circles. From emotional abuse, dismissiveness and the downplaying of achievements to the ideas of transactional relationships, control in the institution of marriage and more. Kollontai's moving text gives us space to investigate our own participants' experiences of abuse and left-wing misogyny as well offering a chance to create ways to overcome problems such as abuse on the left, how to deal with the work of historically problematic men and how we can acknowledge our faults in order to learn and grow.
1 hr 22 min