Evil Spirits. The Wrath of Dionysus. Collection

Yevdokiya Nagrodskaya’s work is a true kaleidoscope of motives and ideas: it includes a Symbolist narrative, investigations into the essence of the “new woman,” a Gothic tradition, ancient motifs, and Nietzsche’s legacy.

In this edition, two of her novels and several selected stories are presented—works that successfully illuminate the themes touched on in her novels.

“Evil Spirits” is a novel about the Russian intelligentsia between Petersburg and Paris, filled with vivid characters, each of whom is possessed by an evil spirit.

In the novel “The Wrath of Dionysus,” the author “deciphered” the philosophical teachings of F. Nietzsche and O. Weininger—popular in the early 20th century—and in complicated love plotlines created an image of the “new woman,” free from the conventions of a decaying morality, yet preserving the main humanist values.

The writer wanted to help a person not to be afraid of themselves—of their hidden essence, of their most “improper” intimate experiences and yearnings—while affirming their right to exist.