Armenian author and feminist. Dussap was born Srpouhi Vahanian in the Ortakoy district of Constantinople to a prosperous upper-class Armenian Catholic family. She was educated in westernized schools and showed little interest in the Armenian language. However, after being tutored by the Armenian poet Mkrtich Beshiktashlian, Dussap began to rediscover her Armenian heritage. She married the French musician Paul Dussap and together they ran a European style salon where the prominent intellectuals, writers, and activists of Constantinople would gather. Together they had two children Dorine and Edgar. Dussap is considered the first Armenian writer to publish works that would now be considered feminist. She began with a series of essays on women's education and employment. She then published the first novel by an Armenian woman, "Mayda" (1883). Dussap continued on the themes of female subordination and inferior opportunities in the later novels "Siranush" (1884) and "Araksia, or The Governess" (1887). Dussap was also concerned with the female peasantry of the Ottoman Empire and the patriarchal structures which oppressed them. She felt that the emancipation of women was a vital step in the future progress of society. She stopped publishing works after the death of daughter Dorine in 1891 and she passed away ten years later. While she was mainly forgotten by mainstream society by the time of her death, Dussap's ideas inspired female Armenian writers of the next generation such as Zabel Yesayan and Sibyl.
Armenian author and feminist. Dussap was born Srpouhi Vahanian in the Ortakoy district of Constantinople to a prosperous upper-class Armenian Catholic family. She was educated in westernized schools and showed little interest in the Armenian language. However, after being tutored by the Armenian poet Mkrtich Beshiktashlian, Dussap began to rediscover her Armenian heritage. She married the French musician Paul Dussap and together they ran a European style salon where the prominent intellectuals, writers, and activists of Constantinople would gather. Together they had two children Dorine and Edgar. Dussap is considered the first Armenian writer to publish works that would now be considered feminist. She began with a series of essays on women's education and employment. She then published the first novel by an Armenian woman, "Mayda" (1883). Dussap continued on the themes of female subordination and inferior opportunities in the later novels "Siranush" (1884) and "Araksia, or The Governess" (1887). Dussap was also concerned with the female peasantry of the Ottoman Empire and the patriarchal structures which oppressed them. She felt that the emancipation of women was a vital step in the future progress of society. She stopped publishing works after the death of daughter Dorine in 1891 and she passed away ten years later. While she was mainly forgotten by mainstream society by the time of her death, Dussap's ideas inspired female Armenian writers of the next generation such as Zabel Yesayan and Sibyl.
Bio by: Paul S.
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