A DEATH-RELATED SUPERSTITION IN OVIDIU BÎRLEA'S 'DROUGHT'
A DEATH-RELATED SUPERSTITION IN OVIDIU BÎRLEA'S 'DROUGHT'

Summary/Abstract: The third short story written by folklorist and prose writer Ovidiu Bîrlea, belonging to the volume Marks on Rock. Sketches and Stories (1974) deals with a profoundly dramatic theme, arousing several existential issues. Thus, the author approaches the human condition in relation to death, a kind of death that is assumed, premeditated and accepted, even imposed by the community, yet beyond the Christian morals. This fundamental theme has two main sub-themes: one of supreme sacrifice and the other, of suicide, both having not only obvious and easily-detectable elements in common but also numerous distinctive features. Under the mark of timelessness, 'The elderly told about a terrible drought in the valley of the Abrud River' or 'The people started talking [...]', the narration is not elusive, as it is in fairy tales or legends, but it depicts a world that is alive, tightly-nit and extremely credible, due to the great number of details but mostly to the complexity of the character.

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