The “Lady of the Russian Woods” as the estate symbol of Russia

. The myth of the white birch in the literature of Great Britain (19th – 21st centuries)

Abstract

In our article, we will examine how from the 19^th till the beginning of the 21^st century was forming the British myth about the picturesque white birch – or, if we paraphrase the metaphor by S.T. Coleridge, “the Lady of the Russian woods”. Firstly, we will analyze the strong connection of this tree with the world of the Russian estate – including the lyrical images of birches growing near noble houses. We will especially consider its metaphorical richness. Thus, birch can act as a “guardian” of the noble house, a part of the memories of a happy estate childhood. It may be a nostalgic image of native country, so important for a wanderer in a foreign land, and finally, a symbol of “perishing Russia” and the upcoming “kingdom of the Kham”. Arisen in the travelogues of British travelers who had visited Russia in the 19^th century (B. Taylor, J.D. Kohl, M.E. Pellew-Smith et al.), and associated mainly with the Russian countryside, suburbs and noble estates, it later penetrated the Western world and spread widely among its readers. We will discuss, how thanks to these travel notes has developed a new image of Russia – the “white-and-green” country densely planted with silvery quivering birches; this image contributed to the formation of a positive myth about this country (along with the negative myth, which also was actively developing in the 19^th – 21^st centuries). Finally, we will pay special attention to how this myth reflects in modern British literature (scientific research, journalism, fiction et al.).