A Tale of Two Cities: The Metropolis in Lou Andreas-Salomé's Fenitschka

This article analyzes the representations of Paris and St. Petersburg in Lou Andreas-Salomé's 1898 novella Fenitschka. In Paris, which is dominated by the male gaze, the female title character becomes ensnared in gender expectations that constrain her behavior. In St. Petersburg, on the other hand, even though gossip remains a threat to her reputation and social standing, she seems to enjoy great freedom of development. In her depictions of St. Petersburg, Andreas-Salomé employs well-known myths of that city as representing an underdeveloped urban culture. This narrative strategy allows her to create a metaphor for women's different experience of modernity.