The Kukotsky Enigma – a novel on abortion?

„ […] I was surprised to see a pro-choice novel take a seemingly pro-life stance. At the end of the day, the book appears to argue, women can only achieve fulfilment through motherhood. […]” (Good Reads), a reviewer on Goodreads¹ argues their critique of “The Kukotsky Enigma”, by Ludmila Ulitskaya, a novel that, in the words of Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, “ […] describes what befalls several generations of a Russian family under the shadow of political events and the sweep of history. It shows the ominousness of towering developments, the minutiae of daily life at different social levels, and the all-pervading magnificence of the Russian soul. […].” (Shefer-Vanson).

Consequentially, the question that poses itself is concerned with the themes of “The Kukotsky Enigma”. Does the novel concern itself with the themes of the history of a family, that forms under unlikely circumstances, or does the author take a definite stance on an age long debate on abortion?

In the name of answering this question, this essay shall seek to identify not only the themes and motives of the novel but also explore the historical context of the plot as well as Ulitskaya’s stance on her novel.

For a start it seems necessary to define the theme of a novel, for an author may have an intention and a message while writing, the reception that the text receives, in great parts, evades their control. As Roland Barthes famously examined the author as a middleman, tasked with aligning words to make sense, but without the power to give them meaning, Zoë Heller writes in her article on whether an Author’s intentions should matter, “[…] For those who persisted in believing that authors were actual people — people who had used language to express specific ideas and sentiments and ways of looking at the world — the task of finding something sensible and halfway informed to write each week was quite arduous. (It required, for example, some minimal awareness of the historical circumstances in which writers had produced their works.) But for those who professed that there was no such thing as literary originality, that it was language that spoke through the author, not the other way around, that reading was not an act of exegesis but a kind of creative, semi-erotic play — essay-writing got considerably easier and faster.[…]” (Heller). Thereby demonstrating that approaching a text, with the mindset, that the author had an intention as compared to believing that the meaning of the text is generated by the consumer of the novel, does not only change reading experience, it also changes the review of the contents.

Consequentially, reading Ulitskaya’s “The Kukotsky Enigma” and asking oneself about the author’s ambitions might lead to a different review than reading the same book without the lookout for intention.

As this essay has no intention of arguing for either of those approaches, Ulitskaya’s views shall be discussed and consequentially considered. However, they may not pose as a decisive factor in an interpretation of her novel.

Inquiring into Ludmila Ulitskaya as an author is not a hard task, as she is a renowned writer and her books receive outstanding reviews. To find out about her personal life and or political stance, however, proves much more complicated.

In no way can Ulitskaya be described as an apolitical person. In fact, she is very open about her views on national politics. As she put it herself in an interview with Anna Porter, “[…] “I am a Russian writer. This is my native country. This is the language I speak and write. So, there is nowhere for me to hide.” […]“ (Porter).

Ulitskaya seems to view the expression of her politics as inevitable. Which means that they are also part of her writing. The author demonstrates a very pragmatic view on politics, in that they are inevitable. She appears comfortable in expressing her opposition to the current Russian government as well as past ones. As observable in several interviews with Ulitskaya, foreign journalists don’t share this view. As Mascha Gessen put it, in a reflection on Ulitskaya, her views and values, “[…] None of these are things that Russian women of her generation, or Russian writers of any generation, would do: the former generally conceal their bodies in shame², and the latter tend not to entertain mortality. […]” (Gessen). Ulitskaya responds to this praise with her usual candidness,” […] “It’s just that I have things to say,” she explains. “I want to tell people not to be scared and to face their disease. There are treatments available. […] And this is the strongest argument there is for living in this country of ours: you can be an educator here every waking hour—while living at home.” Another way to look at it is that in Russia information is a scarce resource. […]” (Gessen)

Ludmila Ulitskaya appears to be a woman, who stands up for what is right to her, no matter the stakes she faces. She names the problems she sees in Russia’s present and past in her work as well as in public and has made a name as an activist and an advocate for freedom and democracy.

In this light, it makes sense to regard Ulitskaya’s works with her political views in mind.

As Vica Miller puts it in his reflection on Ludmila Ulitskaya, “[…] Perhaps I should have discussed Ulitskaya's writing as a representative of women's literature, or talked about the feminism in her work, as she always stands behind her female heroines however insufferable their plights. And, after all, she was awarded the 2011 Simone de Beauvoir Prize, an international human rights prize for women's freedom. […]” (Miller), thereby highlighting Ulitskaya’s activism in the name of women and the feminist movement; an Inclination to analyse “The Kukotsky Enigma” in the light of feminist theory and, as already mentioned, ask the question what stance , if any, the novel takes on abortion.

Before getting into the specifics of the novel however, it’s important to shed light on the topic of abortion, especially in the context of Russian politics.

Pro Choice Austria defines their movement on their website as a movement, which is part of the international feminist movement, which advocates for reproductive independence of women, lesbians, Inter- and Trans persons, and is especially dedicated to fight for the free and safe access to abortions³. (Pro-Choice Austria). Pro-Choice, thus, is dedicated to reproductive independence for women and advocates for the legalization and accessibility of abortions. On the opposite end of the moral question of abortions, is the pro-life movement.

The Austrian Initiative, March for life (“Marsch furs Leben”) state their mission, as the strive for a society, in which every Baby can be born, every pregnant woman, can carry her child, in which human life is highly valued and in which even smallest members of society can find a place.⁴ (Marsch fürs Leben). The Pro-Choice movement, in its moderate form advocates for a decrease in abortions to the minimum, and in its more radical form for a complete prohibition of terminating pregnancies. Oftentimes the Pro-Choice argument is tied to religious arguments as well as conservative politics. (Wilcox und Gomez).

Most countries try and position themselves unbiased, making abortions available to women, who are in danger or have been victims of sexual crimes, but in many places also to people who do not want children at the moment of their pregnancy.

In Russia today, abortions are legal before the 12th week of pregnancy and in case of danger to the mother, later on. The topic is controversial in many ways, as it is socially still very frowned upon. (Lipmann und Sakevich).

Historically, as “The Kukotsky Enigma” demonstrates, abortion was restricted even harsher than now. In general, abortion was prohibited throughout Russia’s history. Consequentially, illegal abortion rates were not only high, but were costing a lot of women their lives due to infection and incredibly invasive methods (Avdeev, Blum und Troitskaya).

This lays parts of the foundation for the beginning of “The Kukotsky Enigma” and stays relevant throughout all of the novel. Abortion, motherhood and femininity are essential themes of Ulitskaya’s novel that stretches throughout several generations.

The novel begins by introducing Pavel Alekseevich Kukotsky, a doctor who excels at his profession due to his ability to perceive the physiological processes within the body, which introduces magical realism to the novel. Within the course of his work, that specializes in the field of women’s reproductive health, he encounters many women, who suffer and oftentimes die after failed and illegal abortions. Because of this constant confrontation with unnecessary (as he would be able to abort most of these foetuses safely) pain and death, he is of the opinion that abortions should be legalized and made accessible.

His wife Elena, whom he meets as his patient, as well as her long-time servant or rather companion, Vasilisa, on the other hand oppose abortions heavily.

As the pair realizes their difference, their former happy marriage starts to deteriorate and as Elena succumbs to a mysterious illness, that almost entirely removes her from reality, the story starts to focus on her daughter, Tanya, who was adopted by Pavel Alekseevich when he married Elena; Thereby the novel takes a turn to focus not only on other storylines but also other aspects of femininity. The novel explores Elena’s illness and in consequence also her concept of herself and her femininity, as well as Tanya’s womanhood and her journey to motherhood.

While it might be argued that, and as it is observed by many reviewers⁵, “The Kukotsky Enigma” is a novel, that in the fashion of many Russian Classics follows the journey of a family through several generations. Consequentially next to the development of a single family, the novel(s) explore(s) the changes to a society throughout time. The changes in power and in politics as well as war and the state of society have major consequences on the characters in the novel, as well as on the storyline. Nevertheless, throughout all of this, femininity plays a special role. This is partially caused by the fact, that, as already mentioned Pavel Alekseevich’s work focusses on women’s reproductive health but also with the characters of Elena and Tanya. In the novel, the idea of femininity is inseparably tied to the aspect of childbirth and motherhood. However, these concepts do not, as one might think act as conditions for femininity.

In fact, the first time Elena is introduced, is as Pavel Alekseevich has to perform an emergency procedure on her, which also includes the removal of her uterus. This procedure leaves her unable to have children (again, as she already has a daughter). Nevertheless, as the reader gets to know Elena through Pavel Alekseevich’s eyes, he never doubts or questions her femininity. In fact, as his formerly mentioned ability has caused him trouble in sexual relationships, as he has found that it would stop once he had intercourse with a woman, the removal of Elena’s “womanhood”, is what makes her a woman to Pavel Alekseevich.

In a similar manner, Tanya’s womanhood and sexuality are never in question as she explores it as a young woman. As she bears her first child and leaves it to continue her lifestyle, this decision is not judged in the tone of the writing or by the characters themselves.

[...]

¹ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31823563-the-kukotsky-enigma

² Referring especially to Ulitskaya’s experience with Breast cancer and her journey to recovery, which she talked about openly.

³ Translated by the author directly from the webiste: https://www.prochoiceaustria.at/ueberuns/

⁴ Translated by the author directly from the webiste: http://www.marsch-fuers-leben.at/wir-wollen/

⁵ As it says on the back oft he Northwestern University Press Edition of the novel „The Kukotsky Enigma is a historical panorama written in the best traitions of Russion literature […]”(Vapnyar)