num_pages: 112
description: Catherine the Great (1729-1796) wrote over two dozen plays and operettas, but not until this edition has a complete translation of any of them been available to an English- speaking readership.Oh, These Times (1772) is a satirical attack on many vices Catherine wished to root out from her religious hypocrisy, superstition and slander. The main character, Mrs. Pious, is a superficially religious old woman who resembles Moliere's Tartuffe.Catherine again sets her sights on superstition in The Siberian Shaman (1786), this time by satirizing shamanism as a deceitful profession which preys on the gullible. This play was part of a group of three plays usually known as Catherine's "anti-masonic" trilogy, written as a warning against the growing influence of the freemasons.In a comprehensive introduction, Lurana Donnels O'Malley relates the plays to Catherine's status and philosophy.
language: English
title: Two Comedies by Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia: Oh, These Times! and The Siberian Shaman
titlecomplete: Two Comedies by Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia: Oh, These Times! and The Siberian Shaman
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Routledge