Texts Featured:

Elana Gomel, “Gods Like Men: Soviet SF and the Utopian Self”

Ivan Yefremov, Andromeda

After reading “Gods Like Men: Soviet SF and the Utopian Self,” I was particularly interested in Elana Gomel’s description of the Soviet New Man as well as the inherent gender divide that can be found as a major theme in sf of the time.* According to Gomel, this concept of the Soviet New Man is first and foremost in stark contrast to the ideal Nazi man. Whereas the Nazi ideal of the Übermensch was characterized by Aryan genetics and was essential to Hitler’s vision of the German “Master Race,” the Soviet New Man becomes subject to a series of creative gynmastics which attributes to him qualities “both humdrum and sublime, both immeasurably better than, and the same as, the average citizen” (pp. 358-359). The first thought that popped into my mind when reading this was how the character of Erg Noor in Yefremov’s Andromeda embodies this image of the Soviet New Man. For example, I think this is most clear in the scene where Erg is coming out of his long rest just as the spaceship is set on its fatal course toward the iron star. Erg is clearly considered to be a sort of ‘Superman’ by all other members of the crew, and this is demonstrated through their deep respect for him and their willingness to submit to his dominance as leader as well as through their physical attraction to him. All of these qualities certainly set Erg up to be an ideal man who is seemingly-superhuman. The depiction of Erg struggling to come out of his deep slumber, with his stumbling and crawling across the floor, and him grappling with his exhaustion and weakness to ultimately save the crew in this state of emergency, allows Erg to adhere to the simultaneously majestic and ordinary prototype of the New Man.

In addition to the New Man, Gomel also writes about the New Woman. This New Woman is (not unexpectedly) largely characterized by her illusory, sexual nature. At the same time, the New Woman can be dominant over her fellow men, yet Gomel also describes how this dominance was often linked to the Freudian idea of the phallic mother. The phallic mother refers to the concept of automatic power and dominance over men being conferred upon women through the image of them having male genitalia or male characteristics. In Andromeda, Nisa Greet and Veda Kong are archetypes of the Soviet New Woman. Both women are distinguished by their standout physical beauty as well as their intelligence and positions of respect. These characters are also examples of what Gomel calls the “feminine stereotypes of the Snow Queen and the rebellious but loyal girl-child” (pp. 365). For example, female characters are constantly being portrayed in sf (and in the media, in general) as either cold temptress or naïve and spunky girl next door. I offer here two supplemental examples from Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed: Takver as “Snow Queen” and Vea as “rebellious but loyal girl-child.” 

* Note from Author:  A thorough reading of these featured blog posts will demonstrate that this is a gender divide that remains in contemporary works of sf. (See “#7: Megan Barber On Russ,” “#8: Close reading of DADOES” and “#9: On Ursula K. Le Guin.”)

(Oct. 4, 2020)