The Sex Question

In the writings of the 19th and early 20th century, the questions we associate with feminism were addressed under a variety of labels, one of the most economical of which was “the sex question,” which referred, in practice, to a wide range of question concerning sex, gender, sexuality, etc. The texts collected here cover a wide range of “women’s issues.” The current collection includes material previously contained in the following archives: La Frondeuse (Black and Red Feminist History), Anarchy and the Sex Question and A Beautiful Nihilist.

Saint Ravachol

Voltairine de Cleyre, “Some Nihilists I Have Met” (1893)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
Some Nihilists I Have Met The word nihilist is so generally associated with darkness, secrecy, dynamite, assassination and blood, that had someone whispered five minutes before the encounter, “You are about to meet a Russian nihilist,” I should, no doubt, have hastily retreated to the shelter of law-abiding domiciles, far from the dirty, tortuous, downtown quarter, where, amidst a labyrinth of alleys and deceitful little streets that mockingly led against walls, and then turned back into one another, I found myself one snowy afternoon, picking my way somewhat disgustedly with no very clear idea concerning my exact whereabouts. One thing, […]
Saint Ravachol

Stepniak, “A Female Nihilist” (1886)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A FEMALE NIHILIST I. On the 27th of July, in the year 1878, the little town of Talutorovsk, in Western Siberia, was profoundly excited by a painful event. A political prisoner, named Olga Liubatovitch, miserably put an end to her days. She was universally loved and esteemed, and her violent death therefore produced a most mournful impression throughout the town, and the Ispravnik, or chief of the police, was secretly accused of having driven the poor young girl, by his unjust persecutions, to take away her life. Olga was sent to Talutorovsk some months after the trial known as that […]
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Ella Norraikow, “Woman’s Share in Russian Nihilism” (1891)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
WOMAN’S SHARE IN RUSSIAN NIHILISM Ella Norraikow THE propagation of Nihilistic ideas in Russia received its first great impulse from the novel by Tourgenieff entitled Fathers and Children, which appeared in 1861. Since that time, while much has been written about the men who figured prominently in Nihilism, writers have failed to show the same interest in the women who participated in the movement. It was not until 1862 that women began to take an active part in Nihilism, and the movement is indebted for not a little of its success to the tact and shrewdness of the many brave […]
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Imprisoned Twenty Years (Vera Figner, 1904)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
IMPRISONED TWENTY YEARS Czar Banishes Desperate Woman Nihilist to Archangel By Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 8.—Mary Figner, who has been confined to the Schlusselburg fortress for twenty years, has been released and banished to Archangel, northern Russia. The woman was condemned to life imprisonment for participating in Nihilist conspiracies. She waved her handkerchief as a signal indicating the approach of Alexander II when he was assassinated here in 1881. As the woman still shows desperate nihilistic sentiments she has now been banished. “Imprisoned Twenty Years,” Los Angeles Herald 32 no. 39 (November 9, 1904): 11.
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The Term “Nihilist” (1887)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
THE TERM “NIHILIST.” November Century.  The word “Nihilist” was introduced in Russia by Turgenef, who used it in his novel “Fathers and Children” to describe a certain type of character which had then recently made its appearance in the ranks of the rising generation, and which he contrasted sharply and effectively with the prevailing types in the generation which was passing from the stage. As applied to Bazaroff, the skeptical, materialistic, iconoclastic surgeon’s son in Turgenef’s novel, the word “Nihilist” had a natural appropriateness which the Russian public at once recognized. There were differences of opinion as to the question […]
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The Stuff of which Nihilist Martyrs are Made (Sophie Perovskaya, 1881)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
The Stuff of which Nihilist Martyrs are Made. Sophie Perowski, recently executed for complicity in the murder of the Czar, was, according to the Intransigeant, a woman of the highest endowments and accomplishments, who at the age of 16 devoted herself to the propaganda of socialist doctrines. For twelve years she never shrank from any sacrifice and never showed lack of courage or want of presence of mind. She cast aside honors, wealth, case, and submitted to tile coarsest drudgery. She walked alone the whole course of the Volga, her energy triumphing over old cold, tempests, hunger and malady. She […]
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Beautiful Nihilist Slays; Weds; Tracked, Is Caught (Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, 1907)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
BEAUTIFUL NIHILIST SLAYS; WEDS; TRACKED, IS CAUGHT Woman Who Killed Governor Genera of Warsaw Pleads She Has Become Austrian by Marriage By Associated Press. VIENNA, Nov. 23.—Wanda Dobroczieka, the woman who threw a bomb at Gen. Skalon of Warsaw and, aided by confederates, disappeared has been brought from Cracow to Vienna, where her trial on the demand of the Russian government for her extradition will take place. The prisoner is a strikingly pretty woman of the Polish type and is as intelligent as she is pretty. After her crime she fled to Cracow. There her beauty attracted many admirers, one […]
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A Beautiful Nihilist (Vera Figner, 1892)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A Beautiful Nihilist Boston Advertiser Vera Figner is one of the Nihilists lately condemned to death at St. Petersburg. She is described as of rare beauty. She is 27 years of age, and has been active in all nihilistic conspiracies since 1878. It was she who with Sophie Perowskaya succeeded in starting the propaganda in the army, and organized terrorist societies in several regiments, including the 16th Grenadiers. It is believed that the Czar will commute the death sentence. The Daily Commonwealth (Topeka, Kansas) no. 4860 (November 27, 1884): 3.  
fiction

A Hunt to Death (1892)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A HUNT TO DEATH. A Beautiful Nihilist’s Contrivance to Elude Justice. I had settled myself in my corner and the train was already swinging at a good pace down the “Golden Valley” before I noticed, first, that I was not alone, and, second, that I was not in a smoking compartment. My fellow-traveler was a lady, clothed from head to foot in a traveling ulster with a deep cape, and closely veiled. I wanted a smoke very badly, and so I ventured to ask her if she had any objection. Imagine my astonishment when, instead of replying to my question, […]
The Sex Question

Newspaper Clippings: Beer for Baptism (1901)

June 21, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
Beer for Baptism. Emma Goldman Mocks Religious Rite in Mining Town. Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 16. – A curious story of Emma Goldman, which is vouched for by a Milwaukee man is being told. It was in 1897 that the man in question happened to visit the mining town of Spring Valley, Ill., one of those forlorn, prairie mining towns where there is a good deal of actual misery and lots of underground hard work. At the time of the visit of the Milwaukee man Emma Goldman was there, holding nightly meetings and drawing large crowds. Just before leaving the town, […]