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This article studies comparatively references to tables in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse and two films, Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love. Greenaway announces from the title a concern with a cook, which the film duly elaborates by setting its action mostly in a restaurant and its kitchen; tables as the central part of the set visualise power configurations. In Wong’s film about failed love, the kitchen and/or tables as part of the décor reinforce mainstream notions of middle-class domesticity. Woolf challenges middle-class views of gender in two episodes from Part I – Mrs Ramsay’s dinner party and the dialogue between Lily Briscoe and Andrew Ramsay about the object of his father’s philosophy books – by defamiliarising respectively the dining- and kitchen tables. The latter scene, which repurposes the idea of the kitchen table as an analogon for philosophy’s construal of the nature of reality, opens up an epistemic avenue: thinking with the kitchen table. My general frame for analysis is Edmund Husserl’s concept of orientation, sustained by Bertrand Russell’s propositions about unobserved objects and unoccupied perspectives. However, I twist these conceptual tools intersectionally to unravel the social grounds of philosophical and artistic positions that obfuscate gendered contributions to knowledge, sustenance and general well-being.
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In this essay I will examine the characteristics of narrative strategy used by Nigerian writer and activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her novel „Americanah” with special reference to Igbo language. The paper provides examples of several expressions in Igbo taken from the novel such as phrases, sentences, proverbs and other lexical items. Using the concept of the migrant identity for my analysis I argue that her narrative strategy including certain Igbo context as base for recognition could be interpreted as the method of manifestation of different self-identifications, global identities and a dynamic sense of belonging from a perspective of Nigerian writer living in the United States.
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In the article, the author presents his interpretation of Roland Barthes’s concept of mythology. Based on this concept, which he calls ‘political mythology,’ the author analyses two interconnected (according to literary critics and theorists) novels: Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma) by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz and Wystarczy być (Being There) by Jerzy Kosiński. The focus of the analysis is Being There, while Dołęga-Mostowicz’s work is considered as a background for the mythological interpretation of Kosiński’s book. The author discusses the latter in the context of the populist ideology which he associates with democratic refl žection. He also describes the emergence of a myth centered around the image of a garden.
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The article discusses J.M. Coetzee’s Diary of a Bad Year to argue that although the main protagonist’s views upon social, ethical, political, and scientific matters may be described as rather pessimistic, the novel still portrays artistic creation as a source of solace, hope, and a motivation for improvement in human life. The validity of the protagonist’s despondent outlook upon human life is undermined by the tripartite composition of the narrative, in which his opinions are questioned when juxtaposed with the alternative views voiced by the other characters. It is argued in particular that the story narrated in the novel reinforces the image of the positive role of literature in human existence.
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The intention of this paper is to give a coherent, and possibly complete interpretation of violence representation in Pavel Hak’s novel Vomito negro, and to argue the thesis that the analysed text is an emblematic expression of a new vision of literature, namely “effective literature”. Drawing on the approach proposed by the postcolonial studies, the analysis conducted here aims to explore violence present in Hak’s novel in order to give a novel insight into the techniques of textualizing this phenomenon. The study is divided into two parts – expository that intends to present the author, his concept of literature, and features symptomatic for his literary texts; and analytical in which Vomito Negro is explored in the light of the main thesis argued in the paper. Finally, conclusive remarks introduce an opening to further interpretations of Hak’s literary texts.
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The great aliyah influenced the nature of Russian-language literature in Israel at the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s. Not only did it increase the number of creators writing in Russian, but it also became a potential that changed the nature of the latest Russian-Israeli literature. The basis for its evolution is the process of deminorization (the concept of Roman Katsman). It reveals itself mainly (though not only) in the revision of the subjects that have been covered hitherto – literature expands the spectrum of the world view and aims towards universalism; it becomes ambiguous, filled with philosophical thought, metaphysics and mysticism. Evolution is revealed not only in the content-ideological layer, but also in the composition of works. The character of the latest Russian-Israeli literature perfectly reflects the work of Dennis Sobolev, especially his second novel, Legends of Mount Carmel. Fourteen Stories about Love and Time.
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Moḥammad Ḥoseyn Roknzādeh-Ādamiyat’s short novel Dalirān-e tangestāni (publ. 1931/1934) relates the story of warriors from Tangestān, located in the southwestern Iranian province of Bushehr, and their fight against the British in and shortly after World War I. From the time of its publication the novel met unfavorable criticism with regard to its artistic value but was applauded for conveying patriotic spirit. This article argues that the novel is based on and structured by the idea of heroization of the local protagonists, which ultimately served the nationalist policies of the Reżā Shāh period (1925–1941). In Roknzādeh-Ādamiyat’s introduction his novel is presented as a device of remembrance: just as remembrance of history forms the basis of a nation’s coherence, its self-esteem is augmented by the recorded memory of its heroes and their deeds. The protagonists of the novel are singled out for their heroic characteristics through the elaboration of specific motifs, e.g. individual bravery and the readiness for self-sacrifice. In the process of nation building, heroes also function as a link between the individual and the community; this article isolates the characteristics that are chosen in the novel to offer a model of identification to the imagined (Iranian) reader, and demonstrates how the contextualization of the heroes makes their integrative functions more visible.
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By addressing the peculiarities and formal inventiveness of Ana Castillo’s novel The Mixquiahuala Letters, the paper identifies and categorizes the elements of identity that generate the metaphysical construction of a bicephalous feminine/feminist experience—a permanent fluidity of the ethos, a profound alterity of the receptive act, and a radical, disruptive participatory courage. While examining how identity (re)construction can resonate, metonymically, in the actual scriptural arrangement of the novel’s text, the paper focuses on the study of the relationship between the formal, textual, and semiotic-receptive representation of the idea of emancipation, through Ana Castillo’s explicit auctorial intentionality.
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Disease and its effect on the body and personal autonomy, as well as its influence on the social position of the diseased person, are among the key themes in the novels of the 19th century French writer Émile Zola. When it comes to female characters, illness has a multifold impact, having both physical and psychological effects, erasing in extreme cases female identity itself. The aim of this article is to offer insights into how sickness is depicted as a menace that leaves female characters deprived of any power they might have by affecting their appearance, which is the main indicator of their social identity and the key instrument they can use to establish and maintain relationships, and by taking away their ability to control themselves and how they are seen by others.
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The article clarifies the genre content of the novel The Raw Youth as a novel of education, reveals the philosophical and pedagogical ideas of F. M. Dostoevsky regarding the principles and content of spiritual and moral upbringing in the Orthodox environment. The connection between the artistic presentation of the upbringing process in the novel and the author’s ideas, which are essentially similar to the ideas of the Christian anthropology school in late 19th century pedagogy, is outlined. In contrast with and in overcoming the “accidental family,” which is extralegal in the spiritual and civil sense, Dostoevsky offers society the idea of kindred love, which is manifested in the “mind of the heart” (emotional intelligence), the unity of value and moral grounds, mutual respect and support and non-violent relations. Depicting the story of the “accidental family,” which was the result of God’s indulgence of human infirmity and lack of reason, F. M. Dostoevsky allows the heroes and the reader to see the human relations ideal in the phenomenon of the family. The former correlates with the will of God and the essential world order. The novel is understood as a representation of a person’s spiritual path. The interpretation of the negative role of Versilov in the spiritual formation of Arkady Dolgoruky undergoes a critical examination. Positive changes in the soul of the Raw Youth are determined by the desire to know and the knowledge of the father’s spiritual make-up. The space of kindred love and family is revealed to be instrumental in the emergence of the collective personality of the Raw Youth and in the spiritual enrichment of all family members. The author concludes that the development of a young person is conditioned both by his own search for the ideal, which is typical for youth, and by the joint efforts of the family that moves towards its ideal through overcoming the separation, which is a source of suffering.
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This paper reviews three novels by different modern authors, all published in 2020 and applying to the realities of Ancient Rome. Marik Lerner’s science fiction novel “Practical Ufology” fits within the subliterary genre of “accidental travel”, and any background information from the Roman-Byzantine life is not very appropriate in the adventure text. The new novel “The Triumphant” by Olga Eliseeva, a professional historian, can be labeled as a form of the “science novel” genre, because it has numerous references and “anchors” that only an educated person is able to understand. The main canvas of O. Eliseeva’s novel is a synthesis of the personalities and actions of Julius Caesar and Constantine the Great, so the writer used the motif of the fantasy world, in which the Roman Republic and Rome are replaced by Latium and Eternal City with the Nazarenes (i.e., Christians) playing an important role in its future. The trilogy “Divine World” by Boris Tolchinsky, a professional politologist, is the most radical inversion of the reality with its own alternative history. The world of the Amorian Empire is a synthesis of the ancient Mediterranean and the ancient Egyptian civilizations. These texts can be considered as “imperial literature” tied to the post-Soviet realities and projects aimed to find a better future.
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Miguel Ángel Asturias and Mario Vargas Llosa, both have experienced the dictatorial regime in their own countries in their youth, are among the main novelists who express the destruction caused by dictatorships. The authors’ novels El Señor Presidente (Mr. President) and La Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat), received great acclaim at the time of their publication, describe the darkness, cruelty, torture and death by revealing the society of fear created by the dictatorship and its consequences. In the axis of these books, this study aims to examine the theme of dictatorship and the figure of the dictator and also to explain the key concepts that constitute the social structures in the novels. In the study, the French sociologist and critic theorist Lucien Goldmann’s genetic structuralism method was used, who stated that the meaningful structures formed by historical and social values directly affect a novel, and therefore, examining a literary work with a focus on the connection between novel and society will yield more comprehensive results. Also, in the study, the authority-obedience relationships in the novels were tried to be explained in line with Erich Fromm’s thoughts and Norbert Elias’s theories were included in the evaluations on social structure and relations.
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The article aims to describe the examples of wordplay in the novel S.N.U.F.F. of V. Pelevin and analyze the translation of these examples in the Polish version of the novel. In the introductory part some theoretical problems concerning wordplay are presented. The main part contains the most interesting examples of wordplay from the novel, the explanation of how the comical effect is obtained and the analysis of the translator’s decisions. In the final part the conclusions are presented.
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The motives of memory and pain are the key motives in Yuri Trifonov’s Another life. The main character of the story “accumulates memory” that is very important ability for Trifonov. A deep and honest analysis of the past allows her to understand herself and her dead spouse better. The heroine at the same time acts as the one who evaluates the past and the one who is valued; she makes an accurate diagnosis of her soul’s disease and understands the reason of the discord with her husband. The pain of loss, which permeates memories, allows her to learn how to understand the Other, and makes her free from mental blindness and impatience. Deep reasoning, introspection and the hard work of memory bring the heroine deliverance from the past. On the one hand, Trifonov makes his heroine feel the destructive force of time; on the other hand, the active work of memory allows her to realize and accept the past, giving the heroine the hope to start another life.
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The paper aims at interpreting two recent novels by Viktor Pelevin — Mafusail’s Lamp and iPhuck 10 in the context of time-space, remembrance and oblivion. The analysis revealed the Russian writer’s vast interest in the physical and philosophical theories related to the true nature of the Universe. Therefore, time and space are inextricably connected in the relevant novels as they form a whole network of parallel realities. Moreover, the realities do not function in the linear way, as human beings would like to perceive them. In Mafusail’s Lamp time travel is possible, but the introduced modifications of the past make the future impossible (in fact, the amendment of the past leads to an utterly new time-space). On the other hand, time travel in iPhuck 10 takes an unorthodox form of world creation (in this case — a world struggling to revive traditional spiritual values), as remembrance in the novel calls for constructing a whole new world. Thus, time travel hardly makes any sense, as all possible worlds exist simultaneously.
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The purpose of the article is to analyze the category of memory in some of Vladimir Sharov’s most famous novels, such as: The Rehearsals (1992), Before and During (1992), The Old Girl (1998), Raising Lazarus (2002) and Be Like Children (2008). As it turns out, Sharov describes a reality in which, through the transmission of personal memories, crystallized into text and passed from generations to generations throughout eternity, can extend life of the individuum to the point of practical immortality. From a paper diary, containing all the smallest details from somebody’s life experience in chronological order, to the interrogation protocols, which are stored in the archives of the NKVD: text becomes in Sharov’s novels the most important repository of memory, through which it becomes possible not only to «resurrect», but also to relive everything anew. Therefore it can be noticed the prominence of the eschatological component in Sharov’s works: memory can be identified with immortality, and oblivion with death.
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In the novel City Written from Memory by Yelena Chizhova published in 2019, the siege of Leningrad is inscribed in several different thematic lines. It determines the fate of the family, becomes a reference point for many situations, events and facts. The article is devoted to the process of constitution and slow formation of separate, individual postmemory of the siege in the consciousness of the author’s subject. The analysis of the novel’s text shows that this process was never uniform, but consisted of several phases, the diversity of which resulted from the factors such as i.a. the age of the post-remembering subject, external (cultural, socio-political) circumstances, family relationships, readiness of memory bearers to share their experience, the ability to express in words the heritage received from them. The article focuses primarily on issues related to the distinctive features of individual phases of postmemory, as well as its impact on the personality of the subject being its owner.
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In this article we endeavour to draw the attention to one of the most essential themes in the research on Chekhov’s literary works, being the problem of communication. For Chekhov communication is not only a simple exchange of points, but it itself becomes the matter of interest and in-depth observations. Hence, it's entirely realistic — bearing in mind various errors — picture of human contacts in Chekhov’s prose, which in turn can be analysed by diverse methodologies. As a tool for observation of the misunderstandings between the heroes (in the area of love), there is the defective theory of mind employed. And a few texts from early stage of Chekhov’s career fall here under scrutiny (e.g. Nervers, Verochka’). In these short stories misunderstandings emerge from inaccurate reading of consciousness, emotions and feelings of others. In this way, the writer creates the real picture of communication, in which the language is only one of many phenomena determining the success in human relationships.
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The article concentrates on the images of daily and happiness, which are widely used in the novels and monodramas by Evgeny Grishkovets. This problem has not yet been sufficiently considered, however it appeared in literature previously. The paper considers Grishkovets’s works such as The Rivers, Asphalt, At the same time and How I Ate a Dog.
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