Ceļā uz sinkrētisko garīgumu: reliģiozitātes dimensijas Noras Ikstenas romānā “Ūdens mirdzēšana”
Towards Syncretic Spirituality: Dimensions of Religion in the Novel The Glistening of Water by Nora Ikstena

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the novel Ūdens mirdzēšana (The Glistening of Water, 2021) by Nora Ikstena, paying special attention to the author’s use of “imaginative apologetics”, which represents syncretic spirituality. The first part of the article analyzes the image of the protagonist(s) and her (their) inner journey, while the second part focuses on the symbolism of the Eye, contextualizing the novel within world literature that treats the eye as a symbol. The third and final part of the article describes the syncretic spirituality found in the novel – it is based on a mixture of Christianity and nature religions, and aims at the self-growth of the individual. This spirituality is analyzed from four perspectives: as opposed to the profane, consumerist world; as a quest for existential meaning; as a form of linguistic expression, and as an individual experience legitimized through religion and literature. Both the cyclical understanding of time inherent in the novel and the references to nature, as well as the loose interpretation of Christianity inserted into Marija’s experience, point to syncretic spirituality as the imaginative apologetics of the novel. Thus, in this spirituality, elements from different religions and mythologies are strung together as equal links in a chain, largely ignoring their original message and using them to represent the individual’s spiritual experience.

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