The lords of in-between: the trickster and liminal figure in the fiction of Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, 1925-1928
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Date
2018
Authors
Tarves, Kirsten
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Abstract
In this thesis I analyze the role of the philosophical, mythical trickster in Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky’s fiction 1925-1928. Krzhizhanovsky was a Polish-Russian native of Ukraine whose dense style and work can loosely be categorized as whimsical, surrealist fantasy. The author remained largely unpublished during his lifetime; only in the last twenty years has his work appeared, resulting in a series of translations and increasing academic interest. I provide a close reading of four narratives, arguing that Krzhizhanovsky’s narrators are representations of the trickster-figure and are the author’s commentary on the Soviet Union’s marginalization and distrust of writers. His writing offers insights into the experience of the dissident Soviet-era author from the perspective of a philosophical thinker and writer.
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Keywords
Russian literature, Ukrainian literature, myth, trickster