Искаженное материнство: Трагизм и катарсис в рассказах Людмилы Петрушевской

The article analyses two stories by Liudmila Petrushevskaia, ‘The Child’ (‘Ditia’) and ‘Zinaʼs Choice’ (‘Vybor Ziny’) from the collection The Girlsʼ House (Dom devushek, 1999). Both stories are about extreme poverty that leads to tragedy. The stories are told in an objective manner, even coldly, but at the same time the author manages to convey strong compassion with the protagonists of the stories.