Ideological Foundation of the Cult of Femininity in Russian Cultural Tradition

Abstract

The paper explores the ideological origins of female worship in the Russian cultural tradition, based upon the search for “the eternal female” caused by the polytheistic worship of mother earth, Mariolatry in the Western Christian cultural tradition, and Sophiology which has a natural connection with Platonism (the theory of Idea and doctrine of Eros). As an important part of the Russian national consciousness, the female worship led to a tendency to sanctify earthly love in Russian literature. The sanctifi cation of the female image has played a role in linking heaven and the human world.