Abstract: Nikolai Karamzin’s Bednaya Liza (Poor Liza), published in the year 1792, and describes the fate of an unfortunate, peasant girl who is seduced by a nobleman and left destitute on the streets of Moscow. It is considered to be one of the most popular works of Russian Sentimentalism. In the story there is a subordination of the element of social conflict to the ethical problem and the avoidance of the negative character in the male protagonist. This paper attempts to read the text from the point of view of the female protagonist, Liza whose presence and voice seems to have been oppressed. The misdeeds of Erast, the nobleman have not been vilified and in a way justified.

Keywords: Russian Sentimentalism, female protagonist, social conflict.