XI International Conference of the Study Group on Eighteenth-Century Russia
10th-14th July 2023
Ernest Zitser (Duke University, NC, USA), "Catherine the Great and the Horse: The Historiography of a Historical Legend"
My presentation will offer a brief historiographical survey of what I am calling the Catherinian equine myth – a specific subset of misogynistic discourse about Catherine the Great’s transgressive sexuality that focuses on the empress’ “unnatural” relations with a horse, the zoophilic encounter that (according to some variants) resulted in her “accidental” death. I will argue that the two existing explanations for the origins and diffusion of this historical legend are as problematic as the story itself. John T. Alexander’s hypothesis, which posits the 18th-century origins of the legend and relies on 20th-century pop psychology to explain its propagation, is historically inaccurate and does not stand up to serious scrutiny. While that of Max J. Okenfuss, which was broached at an earlier meeting of the SGECR, and published in the group’s Newsletter, raises more questions than it answers. Building on Okenfuss’ insight into the importance of classical literary tropes, I will 1) emphasize the ubiquity of the folkloric motif of trans-species sexual relations; 2) demonstrate the existence of two earlier examples of the equine myth; and 3) discuss when and how this historical legend became associated with the figure of the 18th-century Russian empress. My current working hypothesis is that the Catherinian equine myth is a product of mid-20th-century American popular culture, which was in turn shaped by the folklore and cultural activity of late-19th and early-20th-century eastern European emigres, both famous and obscure.
