Elene Virsaladze, also known as E. B. Virsaladze ( ka, ელენე ვირსალაძე; January 3, 1911 – 1977) was a prominent
Georgian folklorist
Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
known for her extensive writing and fieldwork.
Her work has been translated into Russian, French, German, and English.
Biography
Virsaladze was born to economist Bagrat Virsaladze and botanist Elene Muskhelishvili on January 3, 1911.
She was the youngest of three children.
When Virsaladze was ten years old, the
Red Army invaded Georgia. Her father wanted to flee to Europe to escape the occupation, where both he and his wife had been educated, but his wife refused to leave Georgia.
Virsaladze graduated high school in Georgia and moved on to
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...
(TSU), where she was tutored by folklorist
Vakhtang Kotetishvili.
She studied folklore and
philology
Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
and graduated in 1930.
In 1931, she married
Shalva Khidasheli, who would later become known as a scholar of philosophy.
In 1935, she graduated from the Literature, Language and Philosophy faculty at
Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
She defended her
thesis
A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
, "The Genesis of Georgian Folktales," in 1936.
That same year, she returned to
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
to work at TSU, lecturing on world folklore, specifically
Russian folklore
The Russian folklore, i.e., the folklore of Russian people, takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important part of Slavic paganism. The oldest ...
.
She also gave birth to her only child, her daughter Manana.
Both her father and her mentor Kotetishvili were executed in 1937. Virsaladze was exiled to the
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
until 1943, when she was permitted to return to Georgia. She was sent to
Gori, where she remained until 1948, when she was allowed to return to Tbilisi. She worked at the
Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature and defended her
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
there as well.
Virsaladze became a professor at TSU shortly after earning her doctorate.
In 1974, she joined the
International Narrative Folklore Society and participated in international conferences.
In 1976 she was made the head of the Folklore Department at TSU.
She died in 1977.
Academic career
Virsaladze published over one hundred works during her academic career.
She made expeditions into the field throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, collecting and recording oral traditions of peoples across Georgia.
The Shota Rustaveli Institute maintains a collection of audio recordings and transcripts of the information she collected during her travels.
Selected works
* ''The fate of the Georgian mountain peoples'', 1958
* "The Amirani saga and the Georgian hunting epos", in ''Acta Ethnographica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'', 1961
* "The Main Types of Georgian Folk Pilot Literary", in ''Literary Researches'', 1974
* ''Georgian hunting myths and poetry'', 1976
See also
*
List of Georgian women writers
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virsaladze, Elene
1911 births
1977 deaths
20th-century women writers from Georgia (country)
20th-century writers from Georgia (country)
Folklorists from Georgia (country)
Women folklorists
Folk-song collectors
Epic poetry collectors