ИСТИНА

From the second half of 1810s works by female writers (both translations and original works) increasingly began to appear on the pages of literary almanacs and journals. Critical articles devoted to female literature, which emerged from 1820s, were not as much directed at the actual analysis of these works as attempted to support the new phenomenon. By 1830s female literature ceased to be an out-of-the-ordinary phenomenon, peculiar primarily to the higher classes, it increasingly began to involve representatives of the most diverse social strata. By the end of the decade, the first professional writer (H.Gan) appears. And although, by her own admission, she was still perceived by society as a "crocodile in flannels," her work opens up an era of equal existence with male writers. From 1840s female literature became an integral part of literary process in Russia forming a large thematic, stylistic and genre variety of women's literature. 1850s and 1860s witnessed commercial success of several magazines for children, which were edited by women. The attitude of literary critics towards female literature changed drastically: their articles became devoid of the tone of condescending support, from that time on the evaluation criteria for female writers was the same as for male writers' works. A vivid indicator of the status of women's literature in society was also its inclusion into educational discourse. From the beginning of 1820s names and works by women writers appeared on pages of the most progressive textbooks in literature. This process reached its apogee in 1840s-50s, when shortly after being published in literary magazines works of female writers appeared on pages of textbooks. The situation changed in the end of the 1850s, when Ministry of Public Education imposed strict regulations of the content of study books. Nevertheless, it can be said that by 1840s-50s, when the concept of classical literary canon was being formed, female literature was in the field of active public attention.