Melancholic sons and dying mothers: queerness in (post-)Soviet Baltic fiction

Kārlis Vērdiņš and Jānis Ozoliņš

Journal of Baltic Studies, 2025, vol. 56, issue 2, 385-400

Abstract: The article focuses on two lesser-known Baltic fictional narratives from the early 1990s that explore the melancholia experienced by gay men, as depicted by Latvian writers Andra Neiburga and Eva Rubene. Drawing on the concepts of melancholia as developed by Sigmund Freud and reinterpreted by Judith Butler, the study delves into the portrayal of queer protagonists in these literary works. The gay male identity is examined as a complex interplay of various losses leading to enduring melancholic states. Central themes include the symbolism of the maternal figure and the motif of maternal death, with these narratives situating individual psychological development within the broader societal changes of the time, which both underlie and intensify the experience of melancholia.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/01629778.2024.2424257

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