Reading Russian Fortunes
| Author | : Faith Wigzell |
| Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
| Total Pages | : 272 |
| Release | : 1998-05-28 |
| ISBN-10 | : 0521581230 |
| ISBN-13 | : 9780521581233 |
| Rating | : 4/5 (233 Downloads) |
Download or read book Reading Russian Fortunes written by Faith Wigzell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-05-28 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reading Russian Fortunes examines the huge popularity and cultural impact of fortune-telling among urban and literate Russians from the eighteenth century to the present. Based partly on a study of the numerous editions of little fortune-telling books, especially those devoted to dream interpretation, it documents and analyses the social history of fortune-telling in terms of class and gender, at the same time considering the function of both amateur and professional fortune-telling in a literate modernizing society. Chapters are devoted to professional fortune-tellers and their clients, and to the publishers of the books. An analysis of the relationship between urban fortune-telling and traditional oral culture, where divination played a very significant role, leads on to a discussion of the underlying reasons for the persistence of fortune-telling in modern Russian society.
