Heart of A Dog has been sitting on my bookshelf since January. Honestly, til I had to move out last month, I’m sure it had been collecting a modest amount of dust. Little did I know, I had been ignoring one of the most provocative, hilarious, and creative books I have ever read. The overall plot is reminiscent of Gogol’s The Nose: personification of a non-human character and his adventures with his newfound humanity. I’m not sure if I can go so far as to say that this story is another example of magical realism, but this satire definitely contains elements of the absurd and the bizarre.
Undergarments, specifically women’s panties, were a recurring symbol in this novel. Bulgakov uses underwear to demonstrate women as the recipients of violent masculinity and emasculate men. Sharik comments on a woman’s underwear: “… her panties give no warmth, a bit of lacy fluff. For her lover’s sake. Let her just try and put on flannel panties, and he’ll yell!” (Bulgakov 4) The line ‘bit of lacy fluff’ depicts just how little worth the pretty underwear actually possess. They do not even protect against the bitter cold. Just as the dog whose fur is burned off she is left to the mercy of the rough Moscow wind. ‘Lover’s sake’ reveals the reliance that she has on the man in her life for support. It also adds a bit of irony to the story. How much could Vlas possibly love her if he would be aggressive with her for leaving the precious panties behind for some warm clothes. When the man who came in for a surgery to increase his sexual potency removes his pants, he reveals “ a pair of the most unique underpants. They were cream colored, embroidered with black cats, and they smelled of perfume” (19). The phrase ‘cream colored’ suggests that the underwear are characterized by a frail feminine air. The decorative touch of ‘black cats’ adds an innocent or prepubescent flair to the man. Only small children have images on their underwear. Since he was previously lacking in the sex department, the man is not only being reduced to a feminine identity, but he is also given a childish demeanor.
disturbing image of Sharik
I hadn’t thought of these details like this! The idea of emasculation and forcing femininity on male characters is interesting. It seems like the addition of feminine underwear is a tactic to make men seem powerless. What I find interesting is that, even though the Communism in the Soviet Union does incorporate gender equality in theory, there is still the idea that femininity is weak.
Thando, what a thought-provoking post! Like Sophie, I had not thought of or analyzed the role of gender, specifically emasculation. Adding on to Sophie’s comment forcing femininity on male characters I was thinking that this perhaps could be satirizing the extreme ways in which Soviet society forced uniformity among their citizens. Also, maybe the female undergarments, particularly the aspect of “lacy fluff” could also be commenting on the extreme aversion to materialism.
Thando, I think that you are absolutely correct labeling this as magical realism. And that is further supported by how it was forbidden for publication. As we learned in class today Socialist Realism was all for representing the glory of the state in an ideal, and Bulgakov shows it perhaps at its worst! By going to the absurd, he is able to abstract society and craft an allegory toward Bolshevism.
I like your connection to The Nose, as this story shares many aspects with Gogol’s short story, both on the surface and beneath it. You mentioned the newfound humanity of non-human characters, and you mentioned emasculation, which I think is another connection to The Nose. The emasculation you mentioned is similar to the deep sense of humiliation Kovalyov felt when his nose went missing, as a deeply important part of him went missing, hurting his ego and being in itself an allegory of emasculation and destruction of masculinity
Thando, great post and it gave rise to another terrific thread! Gabe, excellent job of linking Thando’s discussion back to the gender dynamics in Gogol’s story, and Sophie and Liam, nice job of advancing Thando’s argument about the theme of emasculation in the novel. I had not noticed before how often the motif of underwear comes up in this book, but you’re absolutely right–it’s everywhere!! I can’t refrain from offering you guys one intriguing postscript; in 2014, the Russian Duma passed legislation outlawing women’s lace underwear. I kid you not. See, for instance, the coverage in this article: https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-29/russian-government-has-banned-lingerie-your-health. The more things change, the more they stay the same! 😀