The ideal of female beauty in Russia. How the ideals of beauty have changed in Russia

MBOU "Secondary School No. 1"

IDEAL OF WOMEN'S BEAUTY IN RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES

Research

Elena Petrovna Shashkova,
teacher of Russian language and literature

Leninsk-Kuznetsky

2014

Table of contents

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………… ..3
2. Chapter 1. Definition of the concept of "ideal of beauty" …………………………… .5
3. Chapter 2. The ideal of female beauty from ancient times to the present day ……… ..7
4. Chapter 3.Social survey on the topic "The concept of the ideal of beauty"…………9
5. Chapter 4.The ideal of female beauty in Russian fairy tales ……………………… ..136. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………… 15
7. Literature ……………………………………………………… ................. 16
8. Appendix ……………………………………………………………… .... 17

Introduction

At all times, girls have strived to meet certain ideals of beauty. It is surprising that in different eras, representatives of different national cultures had their own opinion about beauty and ideal. So, in India, a plump woman was considered ideal, since her curvaceous forms testified to health, wealth and abundance. Body weight was an indicator of social significance, weight. The woman "in the body" was a confirmation that the husband was rich and had a high position in society. And in Italy, a real mother was supposed to have a full figure, since a woman was considered the central figure in the family, the focus of the world. Motherhood in the human world was symbolically associated with the abundance of Mother Nature. However, in our modern society, where there is almost no place for the cult of motherhood, the plumpness of a mother with many children is treated with indifference or condemnation, proclaiming the fashion for slender fashion models and actresses. This interest is primarily due to Hollywood stars, from Jane Mansfield to Marilyn Monroe. But why is the concept of female beauty distorted in the modern world? Why has the idea of ​​the ideal of beauty of a Russian woman changed, and what folk traits have a Russian woman retained in our time?
The relevance of the study is due to the study of ideas about the ideal of female beauty in different cultures and the identification of the peculiarities of the beauty of a Russian woman. To learn the ideal of the beauty of a Russian woman, we turned to Russian literary and folk tales.That's whyobject studies are Russian folk and literary tales, andsubject research - female images in Russian folk and literary tales.

We have nominatedhypothesis : the beauty of a Russian woman will be perfect if her appearance matches the spiritual world.

Target research consists in disclosing the concept of the ideal of beauty of a Russian woman on the example of Russian fairy tales. To achieve the goal, it is necessary to perform the followingtasks :

1) consider how the ideal of female beauty has changed in different eras;
2) conduct a survey of students on the subject of the idea of ​​the ideal of beauty;
3) analyze Russian folk and literary tales and find out which ideal of a woman is represented in the Russian national consciousness
in fairy tales; create a collective image of the ideal Russian beauty.
During the research work, the following theoretical methods were used: the study of scientific literature, the analysis of the results; practical methods: questioning, observation and comparison.

Chapter 1. Definition of the concept of "ideal of beauty"

What is beauty? What is the ideal? Is there an ideal of female beauty in our time? What are the main standards of modern beauty? These questions worried not a single generation. Let us dwell on the definitions of these concepts andlet us turn to the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language” by V.I. Dahl:« the beauty g.- the property of the beautiful, the abstract concept of the beautiful, grace. The combination of truth and goodness gives rise to wisdom,
in the image of beauty. Facial beauty, goodness. The beauty of the word , grace of expression. Beauty will get accustomed, and the mind will come in handy ahead ... "
In the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language" by S. I. Ozhegov we find the following definition: "Beauty iseverything that is beautiful, beautiful, everything that gives aesthetic and moral pleasure. The beauty of Russian nature. The beauty of poetic speech. Be distinguished by beauty. For beauty (colloquial) ".
And the definition of the concept "The ideal is what constitutes the highest goal of activity, aspirations. High humanistic ideals. The perfect embodiment of something. The best view, an elite example of something. "
The definition of the "aesthetic ideal" is given in the "Dictionary of literary terms": "aesthetic ideal - (from the Greek idea - idea, concept, prototype, representation) - an artistic idea of ​​perfection, reflected in a work of art: the image of beauty for granted. The aesthetic ideal is the highest example of beauty, goodness, truth, embodied in the image of a person, as well as in a social structure. The artists of each era gravitate towards their ideal,
its character is determined by social tendencies. "
Reference ( étalon ) - (or a complex of measuring instruments), which ensures reproduction or storage, as well as the transfer of its size to subordinate measuring instruments and approved as a standard in the prescribed manner. "
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Poets and artists in different countries and in different eras developed treatises on beauty and tried to create their own ideal of beauty. For example, Peter PaulRubens contributed to the definition of the ideal of beauty by writing "A Treatise on the Human Body", where he stated: "Speaking about the female figure, it should be noted that the outlines and contours of muscles
women, her manner of standing, walking, sitting down, all her movements and all her
the actions are presented in such a way that one cannot see in them absolutely nothing characteristic of a man. On the contrary, in accordance with its original element, which is a circle, it is all round, tender, flexible and in every way the opposite of a powerful and courageous form. "
The monk of the Vallambrosa Order, Agnolo Firenzuola, in his treatise On the Beauty of Women, gives us his idea of ​​the ideal of beauty in the Renaissance: hair, she looked neither beautiful nor elegant ... a woman's hair should be delicate, thick, long, wavy, their color should be like gold, or honey, or burning rays of the sun. The physique should be large, strong, but at the same time noble forms ... "

The definition of the ideal of beauty of a modern woman is also given in the "Encyclopedia of Beauty": "The ideal of a woman's beauty consists of two interrelated things: external beauty and health.
Smoothness and flexibility of lines are in fashion, the absence of overly rich
forms, thinness of the face, but most importantly - grooming and sleekness. "
Thus, we see that there is no exact definition of the concept of "ideal of beauty" in any reference and encyclopedic literature, so

how each people in different eras had their own idea of ​​the ideal
beauty.
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Chapter 2. The ideal of female beauty from ancient times to the present day

Let's peer into the mirror of time and watch how it has changed
the ideal of female beauty. First of all, eternal or true
beauty was associated with the biblical image of Eve, the progenitor of humanity, a beautiful woman with rounded shapes. Regardless of the time, fashion trends, art has always preferred to create the image of curvy women. And there is an explanation for this. Initially, the world was created in the image and likeness of a circle: earth, sun, moon, stars,
atoms - everything is round. The fullness, or roundness of forms, is closer to perfection - the heavenly state of union with God. This truth is reflected in the symbolism of myths, fairy tales, beliefs of different peoples. It is no coincidence that the roundness of folklore heroes was considered a sign of health.
In Antiquity, body weight did not matter, the main thing is that the body is proportional and trained. So, in ancient Greece, the sculpture of Aphrodite became the standard of beauty. In the early Middle Agesearthly beauty was considered sinful, and the enjoyment of it was considered unacceptable. At this time, the Holy Virgin Mary became the ideal of a medieval woman. In the XII-XIII centuries, people switched to reverence for wealth, and emphasized splendor appeared in women's fashion. There was a certain collective image of the Beautiful Lady with a slender figure and blond hair.Knights suchthe woman was compared to a rose - delicate, fragile and graceful.Sensual, blooming women of the early and high Renaissance epochs replaced the slender bodies of medieval women.The taboo imposed by the church was removed from the human body. Beauty is now again inextricably linked with the body. Women’s beauty has ceased to be treated asdevilish temptation, and to the body - as to a sinful vessel. On the contrary: beauty is now a gift from God, deserving of worship, and beautiful female bodies appear in the paintings of all outstanding painters.And again, art lifted motherhood to a pedestal.Mona Lisa became the ideals of that era,
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immortalized by the great Leonardo da Vinci, and the beauties of Rubens, Rembrandt and other Venetian artists schools. [Annex 1]
The beginning of the era of romanticism manifested itself in women's fashion with naturalness and thinness, girls dressed in corsets to emphasize their forms. The ideal of European female beauty introduced fragility and grace into fashion, which by the beginningXXcentury passed on to the female figure.
In the XX century, the main property of a woman was freedom, which opened up the possibility of self-expression. Most of all, women valued intelligence, energy, and the ability to make money. In the 1920s, women with a slender figure, short hair and a doll-like face came into fashion. The ideal female figure began to resemble the male. Fashion was just in keeping with the spirit of the times, it supported the idea of ​​gender equality. But the art of genius, regardless of the ideals and tastes of its era, gave preference to magnificent, rounded forms embodied in the works of Picasso, Braque, Beckmann, Kustodiev. With the beginning of the era of cinema, Hollywood became the trendsetter for the ideal female figure. Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, then Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lolabrigida began to be considered the ideal of female beauty for millions of people of the 20th century.
In the 21st century, the standard of beauty is slender, athletic women who do not agree to put up with extra pounds of weight and have moved quite far from the fundamental principles of human existence. Signs of mature femininity also went out of fashion, replaced by the ideal of a teenage girl pulled in jeans with a tattoo on her body.
From the above, we can conclude that the concept of female beauty has changed over the centuries, that there was no generally accepted concept of the ideal of female beauty in the world. Each woman was looking for something of her own, with which she emphasized the charms of her figure.But at all times, self-confident women were appreciated - those who ignored their shortcomings and accepted their body as nature created it.
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Chapter 3. Social survey on the topic "The concept of the ideal of beauty"
Pupils of 8-11 grades of MBOU Secondary School No. 1 took part in the questionnaire survey on the topic “The concept of the ideal of female beauty”; a total of 50 students were interviewed, including 38 girls and 12 boys.The questionnaire contained seven questions on the topic of our research:

Beauty as you understand it?

Beauty in our time is ...

a) appearance, b) internal component, c) other

Do you agree with the statement "Beauty is a terrible force"?

Is beauty an important indicator for you?

The ideal of female beauty is ...

What are the main standards of modern female beauty?

Who is your ideal female beauty?

Poll results:

1. Beauty as you understand it?

The guys answered the first question "Beauty in your understanding" in a very diverse way: soul, appearance, and a harmonious combination of internal and external beauty ... For some, beauty is all beautiful, for others, beauty is all that inspires and has interest. But the majority of those surveyed nevertheless agreed on a common opinion about beauty as an internal component, in harmony with the external appearance. I am glad that among our children there are those who appreciate not only clothes, but also the mind and soul. There were other options for the answer: "the ideal state of a person's appearance and his spiritual world", "this is the wealth of the inner world", "the beauty of the soul."

2. Beauty in our time is

a) appearance,b) internal component,c) another.

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The survey results showed that the majority of students (56%)
beauty is understood as the harmony of inner and outer beauty. But some believe that in our time in a person, only appearance is important. Probably, these guys choose their interlocutor by external parameters. Probably, it is quite difficult to communicate with such people, because for them the priority is how a person looks, but not the spiritual world.

Rice. 1. Definition of beauty

3. "Beauty is a terrible force"?

This catch phrase by Faina Ranevskaya has become cult in our time. "Beauty is a terrible force ”, sometimes requiring the most incredible sacrifices and manifestations.Sometimes she can turn against the owner of beauty and bring him a lot of trouble and suffering.... And he can change the world for the better, since a person always strives for beauty. The main thing is that beauty should not be destructive, but a creative force.And 74% of students agree with this. And 26% of children believe that true beauty is modesty, naturalness without risking health and that its role in society
small.

4. Is beauty an important indicator?

When we meet or get to know each other, we always evaluate a person externally, that is, we pay attention to how he looks. We were interested to find out if beauty is an important indicator for children. Of all 50 respondents
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only 19 believe that beauty is an important indicator. They put external attractiveness above internal qualities. Such guys are very critical of a person's appearance, they will not communicate with a person with external flaws. 25 others think that this is not a very important indicator. Indeed, in this case, the appearance is taken into account. Such students are simple and uncritical in relation to others, for them a bright shell is not important, since the inner essence is valuable. For two guys, beauty does not play any role in a person at all. From the answers of the students, we saw that for most of them beauty is not an important indicator, such people are easier to communicate and choose friends and value only spiritual qualities in them.

5. The ideal of female beauty.

When choosing the qualities that characterize the ideal of female beauty, almost all students answered that for them the female ideal is the owner of a rich inner world and good external data
(90%). The remaining 10% answered in a very original way: 7% considered the ideal combination of good qualities in a woman: grooming, neatness, good manners, naturalness, and the other 3% considered the ideal, like the word "perfection", to be a fleeting but bright concept. For them, the ideal was a pregnant woman or a woman in love.
6. What are the main standards of modern female beauty?
As a result of analyzing the answers, it turned out that there was no leader among the standards of female beauty. The options were very different, they all reflect the prevailing criteria for the beauty of modern society:
1. Dystrophic constitution. 2. Wasp waist, long legs, body parameters (90/60/90); model appearance. 3. Tattoo, vulgar and frilly clothes. 4. Wealthy girl: the presence of an expensive car, apartment, designer
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clothes. 5. Well-groomed woman with manicure, bright makeup and individual style. Thus, there are many standards of beauty of modern times, and they meet the criteria of modern society.

7. Who is your ideal of female beauty?

According to the results of the survey, among the ideals of female beauty, the mother is in the lead.

Rice. 2. Defining the ideal of female beauty

The majority of children (44%) from this category chose their mother as their ideal, that is, a loved one whom they know from birth and for them, of course, she is the best. In second place is the number of children (24%) who do not have the ideal of female beauty at all. I think this is due to the inability to see the beautiful, although, perhaps, a person has not yet appeared in the life of these guys who would be interested in his individuality. In third place are those students (20%) whose choice is in favor of movie stars: Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and others. The rest of the students (12%) chose the beauty of princesses from fairy tales and cartoons as their ideal.
Based on the results of the survey, we can conclude that female beauty for students of our school is an ambiguous concept, most of them consider the inner world of a person to be the main quality of beauty. There are ideals of female beauty in our world, but for each student they are individual, for many respondents the ideal is a mother. There are many standards of beauty, and they reflect the criteria of the beauty of modern society.
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Chapter 4. The ideal of female beauty in Russian fairy tales

“Beauty will save the world,” wrote F.M. Dostoevsky. But what beauty will save the world? After all, every nation has its own standard of beauty. What does the beauty of a Russian woman mean? First of all, the ideal of the Russian woman manifested itself in fairy tales. And this is not accidental, because the Russian fairy tale is a way of understanding folk wisdom, an expression of the spirit of the people. She influenced our national consciousness, led to an understanding of the Christian life.
Exploring female images in Russian fairy tales, we will try to determine the distinctive features of a Russian woman. The popular ideal of a Russian woman is, first of all, represented by the appearance of fairytale heroines: maidens with a white face, blush on their cheeks, with “black sable” eyebrows, eyes like “stars”, a “swan” posture, a “peacock” gait, with a long blond braid ... But was it only the appearance of the heroines that determined the standard of a woman's beauty? Let's turn to fairy tales and observe the fates of fairytale heroines.
Nastenka from the fairy tale "Frost" had a hard time in her life. The stepmother disliked the industrious, meek stepdaughter and decided to destroy her. Despite the cruel tests of cold and hard work, Nastenka did not become embittered either with her father or with Morozko. Nastenka is the ideal of patience, hard work, fortitude and a bright soul.
In S.T. Aksakova "The Scarlet Flower" Alyonushka suffered from the envy and jealousy of her sisters. In the family, she was the youngest daughter, « her father loved her more, because she was the best herself and more affectionate towards him. "It was not for gifts that she "uttered a kind and heartfelt word," as the sisters did. Alyonushka felt sorry for her father, took care of him, he was the most dear person to her. And for the sake of his salvation, she was ready to leave her father's house and sacrifice herself to the monster. Alyonushka became an ideal
kindness, compassion, sacrifice and parental respect.

Vasilisa the Wise in the fairy tale "The Frog Princess" by the will of evil
the sorceress was turned into a frog. Ivan's love helped her to remove the spell. This heroine possessed wisdom, cunning and the ability to work miracles. She was an excellent hostess, a craftswoman: she could sew a shirt, bake a loaf, and weave a carpet. Vasilisa is an ideal bride, as she helped her groom to pass all trials with dignity and find family happiness. Vasilisa the Wise became the personification of peace and family hearth.
Marya Morevna, the title character of the folk tale "Marya Morevna", a beautiful princess, a brave warrior, remained faithful in separation from her husband, helped him defeat Kashchei. Everyone was jealous of Ivan and said that "to look for such a beauty in the whole world, you cannot find another." For the people, Marya Morevna serves as the ideal of decency, loyalty and love.
In the fairy tale "The White Duck" the princess, violating her husband's prohibition not to go out into the garden in his absence, disobeyed and was turned into a white duck by the witch. Soon she brought the kids out and raised them. But trouble happened, the guys accidentally wandered into the prince's court, the witch recognized them and killed them. The mother's heart of the duck smelled grief, she went in search of children and found their "white bodies" in the prince's court. “She rushed to them, dismissed her wings and screamed:“ My children, I nursed you with a need, I drank you with a tear, I didn’t sleep enough on a dark night, I didn’t eat a sweet taste! ” The prince sensed something was wrong, removed the spell from the duck, and she turned into a young princess. In the image of the princess, the ideal of motherhood, care and tenderness was embodied.
Thus, fairy tales helped to determine the standard of beauty of a Russian woman and to come to the conclusion that a Russian beauty is a Slavic woman with a rich inner world and fortitude, the best national traits are reflected in her: beauty, wisdom, kindness, tenderness, patience, hard work, courage, mercy, love and loyalty. She is the ideal embodiment of motherhood, a bearer of family values, a keeper
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family hearth. [Appendix 1] With their special beauty, compliance, dedication, Russian women today attract men from all over the world, since their appearance and spirituality are in perfect harmony in them.

Conclusion

Summing up the results of the research work, it is possible to confirm the working hypothesis thatthe beauty of a Russian woman will be perfect if her appearance matches the spiritual world, so we tried to analyze the popular female ideals expressed in Russian fairy tales. This helped to create a collective image of the ideal Russian beauty:Slavs with a rich inner world and fortitude, which reflected the best national traits, family values ​​of the Russian people.In the course of the study, the ideals of the beauty of women of different eras were studied and described, conclusions were drawn about the relativity of the concept of the ideal of beauty, the standards of female beauty.

Based on the results of the questionnaire survey of students, conclusions were drawn about the ambiguous understanding of the ideal of female beauty, the standards of beauty of the new era.

The practical significance of this study lies in the fact that its materials and conclusions can be used in the preparation of classroom hours, for conducting elective classes in MHC and literature lessons.

Literature

1. Dahl, V.I. Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. T. 2 - M .: Russ.yaz., 1989.877 p.

2. Ozhegov, SI, Shvedova Yu.Yu. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. 4th ed. –M .: Azbukovnik, 1999. 944s.

3. Timofeev L.I., Turaev S.V. Dictionary of literary terms. - M .: Education, 1974.509s.

4. Resource [Electronic resource] - access mode - Wikipedia - version of the encyclopedia in Russian.

5 ... Resource http: // byaki. net / [ Electronic resource] - access mode - N.М. Arshavskaya. The ideal of beauty in different eras from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century.

6. Resource wwwpassion. ru[ Electronic resource] - access mode - Encyclopedia of Beauty.

7. Propp, V.Ya. Folk Russian fairy tales by A. N. Afanasyev: In 3 volumes / Preparation of the text, foreword and notes by V. Ya. Propp. - M .: State Publishing House of Fiction (Goslitizdat), 1978

Application

Ideals of female beauty

Ideal of Antiquity

Ideal of the Middle Ages

Blessed Virgin Mary

Renaissance ideal

Mona lisa

The ideal of the era of romanticism

Woman beauty ideal XX century

Marilyn Monroe

The beauty ideal of the modern woman

Russian beauties

The ideal of a Russian woman

The Russian beauty is a woman of Slavic appearance with a rich inner world and fortitude. It reflects the best national traits: beauty, wisdom, kindness, tenderness, patience, hard work, courage, dedication, mercy, love and loyalty.
She is the ideal embodiment of motherhood, the bearer of family values, the keeper of the family hearth. It is as much a secret as the Russian soul itself.

The best advertisement today is the casually dropped: “I used such cosmetics myself Nefertiti". In principle, any name can be substituted - Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Queen Margo, Maria de Medici... But in our latitudes, a win-win option would be to mention the Russian boyars, since they, as you know, "are allied with the beauty of lepas, with eyebrows."

“Some women will disgrace their face, and put on packs of colors - differently scarlet, differently white, otherwise blue, which is like a vile beast of a lick” - such angry accusatory speeches were uttered in the middle of the 17th century in the “Circle of Zealots of Ancient Piety”, the ideological inspirer of which was notorious Archpriest Avvakum... They were addressed, as you can easily understand, to the very "nobles" that, in the opinion of today's cosmetologists, they used only natural, natural remedies.

Fragment of the painting by Konstantin Makovsky "Portrait of Z. I. Yusupova"

Flour for Marfushka

Exalting “old grandmother's recipes”, would-be experts often go for a direct forgery: “For blush and lipstick, Russian beauties used the juice of raspberries, cherries, rubbed their cheeks with beets. Wheat flour or chalk was used to make the skin whiteness. The source of inspiration for this opus is obvious - a movie tale Alexandra Rowe"Morozko". It is there that Marfushenka-darling is powdered with flour and blushed with beets, making it look like a classic nesting doll. The reality was much cruder, and most importantly, harmful.

The funny thing is that all the sources agree on one thing: the boyar women loved the cosmetics too much. It is already clear how the frantic Old Believer Archpriest Avvakum was outraged by decorative cosmetics. His ideological opponent, Metropolitan of Novgorod and Velikolutsk Macarius III, was not strong in publicism, but in 1662 he expelled several overly painted women from the temple. Foreigners, who have not the slightest relation to the Orthodox Church, paradoxically were on the side of both Avvakum and Macarius: “Women in Muscovy have an elegant appearance and a specious beauty of face, but their natural beauty is spoiled by useless rubbing. They smear their faces in such a way that almost at the distance of a shot you can see the paint on their faces. They paint their eyebrows in black paint to match the color of jet. " These are the words of an Englishman Anthony Jenkinson traveling across Russia in the middle of the 16th century.

By the way, foreigners at first glance confirm the "naturalness" of old Moscow cosmetics. Here is a German Adam Olearius: "They are whitewashed so that it seems as if someone has passed a handful of flour over their face." Here is the baron Johann Korb: "She whitewashed them so coarse that women look like rolls, too much covered in flour." Here is the same Jenkinson: "It is best to compare them with the millers' wives, because they look as if sacks of flour were beaten out near their faces." It is tempting to assume that wheat flour was indeed used as a powder.

It took the gaze of a specialist who, moreover, was no stranger to literary work. It became personal physician of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Samuel Collins: “Their blush and powder are similar to the colors with which we decorate the chimneys of our houses in the summer. They are composed of red ocher and Spanish white. " Actually, that says it all. Both red ocher and bismuth or Spanish whites are widely used in the modern cosmetics industry. So the old Moscow beauties did not possess any special recipes. Moreover, if we compare the cosmetic assortment of the average European fashionista and the Russian beauty of those times, it turns out that they are almost identical. French persecutors of "artificial beauty" in 1642 wrote with indignation that ladies' whims began to ruin men: "For a lady's toilet, now a whole shop of whitewash, blush, mercuric chloride, alum, cow dung, vinegar, perfume, almond oil is required .. . ”So the overload in Russian cosmetics was no more than in Europe. Differences in the assortment are also minimal - instead of almond oil in Russia, they often used sea buckthorn, and also anointed the body with "jellied meat" - then this was not the name of beef jelly, but an alcoholic tincture of mint, a kind of lotion.

Fragment of the painting by Konstantin Makovsky "At Tea"

Reforms and teeth

The only thing in which our cosmetic mores differed sharply from European ones was applied dentistry. Foreigners wrote in horror: "Russian women blacken their teeth." Combined with whitewash and blush, the black smile really looked intimidating. But there was an explanation for that. Most often, they nod that the Russians adopted this custom from the Tatars, and those, in turn, from the Chinese and Japanese. Indeed, in Asia it was customary to blacken teeth. But the Tatar influence has nothing to do with it.

"What does it have to do with some progress in the field of chemistry, as well as the desire of Russian women to look stunning." This was especially true of the highest aristocracy. The whiteness of the smile was revered as one of the main virtues of the bride. Of course, you could brush your teeth with crushed chalk, but this process was long and laborious. And I wanted everything at once. And then Russian pharmacists proposed an effective option. Mercury lotions. That is, pastes based on mercury compounds. It was a breakthrough. The teeth became snow-white after two or three uses of such a paste. True, after six months, a lot - a year, all this beauty peeled off along with the enamel, leaving dirty gray, and if diligently applied, black hemp.

And then the mechanism of the female parrot was triggered. If the boyaryn has black teeth, it means that it is fashionable. This means that any "zhonka" from the Moscow posad will mix the interior lard with soot from the chimney, spice it up with fish glue and smear her teeth in order to at least in this way become equal to the boyaryn.

Among the reforms Peter I most often they recall the creation of a regular army, as well as the general barber shaving among men. That's all right. But the king-carpenter did not leave his attention and the beautiful half of humanity. When they say that he forbade blackening his teeth, they sin somewhat against the truth. He simply forbade them to bleach with mercury, forcing them to abandon the "grandmother's recipes." And he instilled in Russia the usual means for oral hygiene - a rag and a brush with crushed chalk.

The position of a woman in ancient Russian law was much higher than in ancient Greek and Roman, in the face of which a woman always needed a guardian and did not have legal capacity. In ancient Russia, women owned the right to a dowry, inheritance and some other property. Even in the pre-Christian period, wives had their own property, and princesses and other noble women owned large fortunes, cities, villages. So, Princess Olga owned her own city, her own places for bird and animal catching.
Female thinness in Russia was considered a serious drawback and even a sign of illness. In the sources you can find information that the real beauties were supposed to weigh at least 5 pounds (80 kilograms).
Snow-white skin and a bright blush on the cheeks also testified to health, which is why whitewash and blush were widely used in Russia.
Great importance was attached to the gait. It was necessary to walk smoothly, slowly. Such women were spoken of as "like a swan floats."

clothing

The external appearance of Russian women in Ancient Rus is presented more in the image of princely families. Women's underwear was cut long and had sleeves that were much longer than the length of the arm. The outerwear of noble princesses and boyars was sewn from oriental embroidered silks or dense fleecy fabric with gold or silver thread similar to velvet. In the cold winter time, the women of Ancient Rus wore fur clothes: the wealthier - from expensive furs, the less noble - from cheap ones. Furs are already mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years. Expensive furs (ermine, sable, etc.) are mentioned in the annals only in relation to women's princely clothes. It is known that in the XIII century. noble Russian women willingly adorned the edges of dresses with ermine skins, and the wealthiest made of them linings along the hem of their clothes, reaching up to their knees in width, which could not but amaze foreign travelers. Fur coats at that time were worn by women only with fur inside, they were treated with great care and were passed from mother to daughter.
Ancient frescoes indicate that the clothes of noble women were multicolored and suggested bright combinations and rich colors. The favorite color in the costume of women of all classes was red. The abundance of red shades in the costumes of ancient Russian women is explained by the fact that red was a “talisman” color, and by the fact that there were numerous natural dyes that dyed fabrics exactly in red-brown colors: buckwheat, St. John's wort, bark of a wild apple tree, alder, buckthorns.
A distinctive and striking part of the oldest women's clothing was a headdress - an obligatory addition to any costume of Russian women. In the Old Russian costume, he had not only an aesthetic meaning - to complete the clothes, but also a social meaning - it showed the wealth of the family, as well as ethical - it was shameful for the "peasant" to walk with a simple hair. The tradition came from the times of paganism, when covering the head meant protecting the woman herself and her loved ones from “evil forces”. A distinctive feature of the headdress of a married woman was that it completely covered her hair. The girls were free from this rigid prescription. They often braided in one braid, leaving the top of the head open.
Temple rings were one of the most widespread female adornments in Russia among all classes of ancient Russian society. The methods of attaching rings to a headdress or hair were varied. Rings could be hung on ribbons, straps or braids, they could be pinned to the ribbon, as if forming a chain. Sometimes the temporal rings were threaded into the earlobe like earrings.

decorations

Earrings for women are less common in temple rings and neck ornaments, both in descriptions of early written sources and among archaeological finds.
Neck adornments, especially glass beads, were no less popular among women of all classes. They have hundreds of varieties, each with its own unique ornamentation, shape, color. The most widespread were beads made of multicolored “chopped beads”. Chains were a very valuable and expensive neck adornment for women of the privileged class.
Medallions, brooches, glass bracelets, and rings are also known among the adornments of the nobility.

Body and face care

In Russia, since ancient times, much attention has been paid to the observance of cleanliness and tidiness. The inhabitants of Ancient Russia were known for hygienic care for the skin of the face, hands, body, hair.
The ancient Slavs were well aware of the beneficial properties of herbal remedies, they collected wild herbs and flowers, which were then used, including for cosmetic purposes.
Household cosmetics for Russian women were based on the use of animal products (milk, yogurt, sour cream, honey, egg yolk, animal fats) and various plants (cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, beets, etc.).
The main procedures for skin care were carried out in the bath: they cleaned it with special scrapers, massaged it with aromatic balms. To give the body freshness, they were massaged with herbal ointments. In order to get a feeling of freshness, the body was rubbed with the so-called "cold" - infusion of mint. And to give the skin the aroma of freshly baked rye bread, beer was poured onto the hot stones. Less wealthy girls, whose family did not have a bath, had to wash and steam in Russian stoves.

Makeup

Information about the use of cosmetics by women in Ancient Russia is mainly contained in foreign sources. And these sources sometimes contradict each other. But in what exactly the foreign authors did not have disagreements, it was that Russian women abused cosmetics.
The foreigners were doubly surprised that Russian women did not use cosmetics secretly from their husbands. Almost the poorest man bought blush and paint for his wife. That is, in Russia it was considered quite common when the husband went to the market to buy white and blush for his wife. According to the testimony of some foreign travelers, it was just the non-use of cosmetics by Russian women that was unusual. Even if a woman is naturally prettier, she still had to wear makeup.

By the beginning of the 17th century, Europeans began to treat Russian women with makeup more leniently, as the fashion for whitewash appeared in Europe, and Europeans also began to resemble dolls.
They used raspberry and cherry juice as blush and lipstick, rubbed their cheeks with beets. Black soot was used to blacken the eyes and eyebrows, sometimes brown dye was used. Wheat flour or chalk was used to give the skin whiteness.

Hair

Natural ingredients were also used in hair care. Plantain, nettle leaves, coltsfoot, burdock roots were used for dandruff and hair loss. Eggs were used to rinse hair, herbal infusions were used as rinsing.
Plants were also used to change the color: onion peels were used to dye hair brown, saffron and chamomile to light yellow.
Loose female hair, especially among married women, was not welcome. This was considered a sign of disobedience, insolence, pride and disrespect for tradition.
Braids as thick as a hand were considered the standard of female beauty. Those who could not boast of chic hair, went to a little trick and weaved hair from ponytails into their pigtails.
For women, the braid was the same symbol of honor. The long braid was a symbol of energy conservation for the future husband. After marriage, the braids were replaced by bunches - a symbol of the concentration of energy for one thing, that is, for the husband and family.
To rip off a woman's headdress was considered the most serious offense. Hence the expression "goofy", that is, to be disgraced.

What beauty criteria constantly changing over time, is a well-known fact. The current ideas about the ideal parameters of the female body and moral qualities are fundamentally different from the requirements that were put forward for girls in past centuries. "Slavutnitsa" were considered an ideal worthy of imitation in Russia(or "glorious girls"). Who fell under this definition?

Traditional ideas about beauty and about the system of female virtues in Russia remained unchanged for centuries. First of all, this concerns the rural way of life, which retained its originality and inviolability until the end of the 19th century. In particular, the notions of girlhood and the so-called "Slavutness" did not lose their relevance for a long time.

The "super task" of any girl in Russia was marriage and the birth of children. The period of girlhood began at the age of 13-14, and at the age of 15-16, teenage girls turned into mature "Slavutnits". Their main goal was to learn how to please others and become attractive to men. According to I. Shangina, “they tried to cultivate in the girl, first of all,“ femininity ”- a quality thanks to which she would be able to fulfill her destiny on earth”.

As I. Shangina writes, “glory is a rather complex concept that included a whole set of qualities: a pleasant appearance, charm, the ability to dress well, behave according to the rules accepted in society, and, of course, an“ honest ”name. "Glory" was considered a property that flourishes with girlhood. " Among the main criteria for beauty were a strong physique (stoutness), high breasts, steep hips, a round face, and a long braid. The fashion for slender young ladies, which appeared later in the noble environment, did not take root in the village - pale skin and a fragile physique were perceived as signs of illness or physical immaturity.

"Handsome", "beauty" were called stately, white-faced, ruddy, white-toothed, black-browed. These were not only the criteria of beauty, but also symbols of vitality and health. Long thick hair, braided in a thick braid, and a "frequent" gait - small steps with a smooth swaying of the hips and swaying of the chest gave the girl a special charm.

However, the external beauty was not enough to be called "slavutnitsa". "Cleverness" was especially appreciated - the ability to behave intelligently and correctly. The girl had to be friendly, polite, modest, but also moderately relaxed. In order to impress the future husband and his family, the slave had to be courteous, affectionate and obedient. At the same time, excessive modesty was perceived as negatively as swagger, because in order to please guys, a girl had to be cheerful and witty, be able to dance and sing.

An important condition for success is an impeccable reputation. The loss of virginity before marriage meant the loss of fame. Therefore, it is the duty of every young girl to uphold her honor and good name. In addition, it was believed that the health of future offspring depends on virgin purity.

The girls were responsible not only for their own good name, but also for the reputation of the entire village. The status of the Russian village was determined by the presence of girls in it, about whom good fame goes throughout the district. The more such "glavnitsa" - the more honor the whole village. They usually led the festive festivities of young people, took pride of place at winter gatherings, they were the first to be recruited into a round dance, of which they were the first couples in a quadrille.

shocking facts about the life and life of Russian women in the village of the late 19th century

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A story about what ideas about female beauty were in our country in different eras, and how they were transformed.

Ancient Russia

For a Stone Age man, female beauty was directly related to weight - the higher the weight, the better.

A plump woman with wide hips and large breasts was more likely to bear, give birth and feed a healthy baby. For the men of Ancient Russia, not obese, but well-fed young ladies seemed attractive - as they say, blood and milk.

We can also judge the ideals of facial beauty by Russian fairy tales. The fabulous beauty is always white-skinned, but at the same time ruddy. The girls dusted themselves on terribly harmful white lead and painted blush with beetroot juice. Even in Russia, thick eyebrows were adored - therefore they were tinted with various means. Interestingly, black teeth, eaten away by caries, were considered a sign of beauty - an indicator that a girl is rich and can afford to eat a lot of expensive sugar. Therefore, the girls blackened their teeth. Facial features were preferred to be correct: a long, straight nose, full lips, a high forehead, and thick hair.

Modesty, unhurriedness and femininity were appreciated in behavior in Russia. Also, in Russia, the female mind has always been in high esteem.

A stately, tall, strong girl with rounded shapes and a healthy blush on her cheeks, with a leisurely gait, a timid gaze, but at the same time smart - here she is, a medieval Russian beauty.

New Time

If before Peter the standards of beauty were the same for the Russian nobility and for the common people, then everything changed dramatically. With innovations in the army and government, Peter also brought fashion trends from Europe. But they only influenced the aristocracy and townspeople, and for the peasant majority nothing changed. The beauty of the nobility began to become artificial. Aristocrats painted in the French manner, drew artificial moles for themselves, plucked their eyebrows, and did complex hairstyles. Peter "cut a window" in the prime of the Rococo era. The ideal woman of this style is porcelain pallor, lightness and fragility, airiness and playfulness. At the same time, plump ladies remained in favor.

It is interesting that in Russia in the first half of the 18th century, the demand for darkening was added to the rococo standards. We can recall the famous beauty, the last love of Peter I, Marina Cantemir. In this woman, the Russian and European traditions of perceiving female beauty seem to have merged together.

We find a similar type in the favorite of the court of Catherine II, Maria Naryshkina, and in the fateful actress Praskovya Zhemchugova. In the 19th century, this dark-haired and black-eyed "pungency" goes out of fashion, lighter girls with big sad eyes are in demand. This trend appeared thanks to the now eerily fashionable England. For example, Natalia Pushkina, the wife of the great Russian poet, who was considered the first beauty in Moscow.

In the 19th century, fullness ceases to be an obligatory attribute of a beauty. At the same time, naturalness returns to fashion. If for the 18th century tons of powder and painted eyebrows were characteristic, then in the 19th century girls began to strive not to paint themselves a new face, but to emphasize the dignity of their natural features.

XX century

At the end of the 19th century, slender girls began to conquer Russia, and obesity is almost completely out of fashion. The natural beauty of graceful features of fragile and sophisticated girls - this is what was appreciated in Russia at the turn of the century. An excellent example is Zinaida Yusupova, a sophisticated aristocrat who was considered the most beautiful woman by many people at the court of Nicholas II.

However, right before the revolution, this tradition is replaced by another, also brought from Europe. Silent cinema, jazz and emancipation take over the world. This affects Russia as well - unnaturally pale, chubby women with short haircuts and huge bottomless eyes are becoming icons of beauty both in New York and Voronezh. For example, Vera Kholodnaya is an insanely popular Russian film actress, for whose films men fought in queues.

In the first years of Soviet power, this type was also very popular. But soon the country cut off all cultural ties with the West and the demand for completeness returned. An icon of beauty in the Soviet Union was a beautiful in her simplicity collective farmer. The effeminacy and aristocratic pallor give way to strength and proletarian blush.

However, there were also exceptions. For example, Lyubov Orlova, whose appearance was adored in the USSR, but which would certainly have pleased the courtiers of Alexander III.

Almost all the time of the existence of the USSR, the standard of beauty was a ruddy collective farmer. Only closer to Perestroika, slenderness and lightness began to return to fashion. A very clear pattern can be traced: the harder the times, the greater the demand for obese women.

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