Motywy akwatyczne w powieści Zachara Prilepina Patologie
Aquatic motifs in Zakhar Prilepin’s novel Pathologies

Summary/Abstract: Incorporating aquatic motifs into his novel Pathologies, Zakhar Prilepin ascribesdifferent functions to them. Firstly, in ‘Chechen story’, water takes the form of rain that constitutesan ordinary, thought irritating, atmospheric phenomenon. However, when the youngprotagonists fight under siege in Chechnya, water acquires a symbolic meaning, becominga dire portent of death. In the final scenes, set in Chechnya, water changes its connotation andsaves the survivor Russian soldier’s lives. Besides, water plays in Prilepin’s novel (Epilogue) therole of catharsis: it is the river’s water where the author is reborn and ‘baptized’ so that soul waspurified of the past sins related to upbringing and care for his adoptive son.

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