Символические мотивы в романе А. М. Ремизова «Часы»

Abstract

The paper is to analyze symbolic motifs in A. Remizov’s novel Clock (1908), which is considered as a neo-mythological text. Myth-poetic, mythological, semiotic and hermeneutical methods enable to understand the novel’s neo-mythological structure, to explore symbolic motifs such as the images of time, dream, unconsciousness and nature, which create together a special mythological space, expressing the writer’s compassionate concern for people and their miserable life. The paper aims to identify these symbolic motifs and examine their structure-forming role in connection with the writer’s world view position. The time shown on the clock is symbolic. It restricts and deceives people, whose depressed position is reflected in the motifs of dreams and unconsciousness. Their semantic meanings demonstrate a lack of fraternal love in people and imply their doomed fortune. Based on comparing the description of natural phenomena in the beginning and the ending sections of the novel, the author concludes that human can find a way out of the tragic situation with the help of faith in goodness. Depicting people’s suffering, Remizov shows the destructive power of the evil and expresses his idea of creating a new world at the cost of destroying the present one.