ემპათია – XXI საუკუნის თემატური ინოვაცია მსოფლიო პანდემიანაში: ეთგარ კერეტის „Stories in Times of Coronavirus"
Empathy as the Twenty-First Century Thematic Innovation in World Pandemic Literature (Etgar Keret’s „Stories in Times of Coronavirus“)

Summary/Abstract: The centuries-old history of mankind has been marked by more than one epidemic or pandemic. It has long been a part of cultural memory. The psychological trauma caused by the transferred feelings has found a variety of reflections in art, primarily in painting and writing. In the paper, from a synchronic and diachronic perspective, we review the traditional themes of the art of overcoming the deadly illness and its artistic peculiarities in the context of world literature. Despite the thematic diversity, several traditional themes can be distinguished in the World Pandemic: Hedonistic – the pursuit of ultimate pleasure before death; Tragic – mourning the death of a loved one and realizing the transcendental eternity of love; The feeling of catastrophe (social, economic, or ideological) – or an epidemicas the power of chaos; Heroic (confrontation of good and evil). This theme is most impressively addressed in fantasy literature, where various deadly viruses threaten to destroy humanity, but a dedicated heroic battle ends with the defeat of evil. As a rule, in the texts dedicated to epidemics and pandemics, a combination of several main thematic layers is observed. In the twenty-first century, COVID-19 feeling has been added to these rich artistic reflections. Modern literature devoted to the new pandemic not only interprets themes with centuries-old traditions but also observes new thematic innovations. One of them is the development of empathy - compassion and the ability to understand the psychological state of others. One of the first authors writing about the awakening and intensifying the ability to empathize in altered reality was Etgar Keret, whose stories were written during times of COVID-19.

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