Petrukhina Character Traits

Petrukhina is in an unusual situation; previously a heroic Soviet World War 2 pilot and veteran, now she struggles with living an ordinary civilian life. Her job as the headmistress of a school forces her to be the boss – strict and a symbol of authority. When she has to publicly expel Bystryakov we can tell that she eventually regrets it, but must be strong and keep her word. This seems to give her the reputation as tough and uncompromising. Her heroic past goes completely unnoticed and unappreciated by her students, and throughout the film she gets more and more tired of her life, longing for the freedom of her pilot days. Petrukhina can be uncomfortable, awkward, and shy in some social situations. For example, when she meets Tanya’s husband for the first time the camera often zooms …show more content…
She is unenthused with their relationship and does not appear to care for him in a romantic way at all, rather she gives the impression they are platonic friends. Petrukhina often appears to identify more with stereotypical masculine traits – i.e. being a cold and stern disciplinarian, piloting in the war, etc. – and perhaps believes that with the security of a husband, Tanya will never become the kind of strong and independent person Petrukhina herself …show more content…
Yet, even in this role she struggles to conform to the feminine nature of it. She is clearly a little estranged with her daughter and they are not as close as she wishes them to be, as she cannot connect with her daughter. She is further distanced from this role when we find out that she adopted Tanya, and is not her birth mother. The fact that she did not even naturally have her daughter, something only women can do, detaches her even more from traditional female gender