Religious Elements in the novels of Emma Andiyevska and Toni Morrison
Religious Elements in the novels of Emma Andiyevska and Toni Morrison

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is a characterization of Emma Andiyevska’s and Toni Morrison’s fiction in the context of religious elements present in the novels. In the course of an ideological and thematic analysis of a few selected novels the features of the writers’ outlook and their individual ideologies have been described and commented upon. Specific characteristics of their prose writing, the philosophical content and existential problems in their novels have been also identified. Both the Ukrainians and the Afro-Americans – despite the differences in their history – formed their national and cultural identity in the course of enslavement and suffering they had undergone in their past and this finds an expression in the novels of both authors under discussion. The conclusion points out that religion in its moral, psychological and symbolic aspects plays an important role in both Ukrainian and Afro-American cultures. The article focuses on the following novels selected for analysis: “Herostrats”, “A Novel about a Good Person” and “A Novel about Human Destiny” by Emma Andiyevska and “Beloved” and “Jazz” by Toni Morrison. The main characters of these novels serve a noble aim – to preserve their moral principles in order not to lose their own and national identity. They react to various hard moments and twists of fortune and are exposed to boundary situations in their lives which cause various changes in the structure of the “I-person” (the narrator). Special attention is devoted to the characters’ complex inner world. The writers highlight universal spiritual values against the background of historical events and everyday reality. Characters of their novels have to survive in an alien environment and take care to preserve their national consciousness. The trinity concept of „God – motherland – an individual person” as the principle providing order and structure to the life of a community or of a nation can be seen in the novels of both authors. Emma Andiyevska’s and Toni Morrison’s fiction makes use of the religionrelated patriotic ideology to preserve the people’s experiences i.e. the Afro-American community’s painful life and the Ukrainian nation’s suffering, for the benefit of the future generations.

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