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• 1 2024-02-06T13:21:21-08:00 Blog Post 4 4 plain 2024-04-14T20:57:20-07:00 In Ludmilla Petrushevskaya's 'Among Friends', the body and gender come up continuously. Throughout the piece, descriptions of the body vary from relatively normal to extreme. These overt mentions of the body are reinforced by more subtle language related to physicality throughout the story, which seem to make the body a more central, yet slightly unspoken, subject.
  
  The language of physicality begins right from the start of the piece: "I’m a direct person, always smirking and poking fun when we all get together at Marisha and Serge’s on Fridays". The use of the word "poking" here, while part of the very common expression "poking fun", is inherently physical, invoking the image of the narrator quite literally poking the other members of the meetings detailed in 'Among Friends'. This characterizes the narrator from the beginning as someone who exists in relation to the bodies of those around her. The act of poking someone is invasive. Perhaps the friends in this circle know each other well, or perhaps they are not put off by a slightly intrusive action. Though the physical expression relates specifically to the narrator, the idea of reciprocity is described in the fact that the "poking fun" takes place "when we all get together". We get descriptions of the body from the narrator's perspective, but the narrator makes it seem that this is not only true of how she views the group.
  
  With phrasing that begins to show a lack of agency among the group, the narrator describes her routine: "Still every Friday we come, as though magnetized, to the little apartment". Again, "magnetized" has a very physical feeling to it, conjuring up ideas of a force that affects the physical. The narrator, however, seems to have less of a say in how her body is utilized in the weekly ritual of meeting at the apartment. The passivity described through the word "magnetized" begins to creep into the story, characterizing her as someone defined by physicality but not in control of it. Beyond that, "magnetized" has a very collective meaning to it. There cannot be only one thing in order for a magnetic pull to happen. The process necessitates at least two. In this way, other members also appear to be stripped of physical agency.
  
  This mix of passivity and agency is illustrated much later in the story through similarly physical words: "In that house, everyone was welcome and comforted, but few chose to impose". The choice expressed with whether or not to "impose" does not seem to really be a choice. "Impose" as a more negative version of the earlier "poking" now shows a limit on the physical presence thought acceptable. What is considered acceptable within this circle of people has shifted as time moves along, bringing a lack of agency and an era of passivity. The illusion of agency in these lines makes it seem further from the lighthearted nature of the previous years.
  
  Description of the body shifts throughout the course of this story, but it remains a subtle feature of Petrushevskaya's writing in 'Among Friends'. The toned down affect almost mimics the general atmosphere around gender and the body in our culture today. Whether overt or not, the body is always something present and affecting our language and judgements.