Art historical time in the works of Ivan Сankar

Abstract

In the article on the example of the work of the biggest Slovenian writer Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) the subject of art historical time is studied. It raises the question of the place and role of historical time in the literary texts whose authors use it to organize plot, characters and art space. I. Cankar, as a rule, does not give expanded descriptions of one or another significant event. The historic time is presented in his works in the form of digressions, in the memories of the characters. Sometimes it refers to very recent history, presciently anticipating the importance of a phenomenon for the destinies of individuals and of entire peoples. Such events form thematic nodes, motifs, storylines of his works. Three themes dominate in the prose of I. Cankar: the peasant uprising, the World War I, and the theme of exile. Many times would he address the plots and topics of folk poetry. However his view on it and on the important for the Slovene culture folklore and mythical characters sometimes differs a lot from the views of many of his contemporaries. This was specifically reflected in his work on the drama on peasant uprisings. He dedicates special attention to those periods of the national history that underwent sacralization in the folk consciousness (“The Golden Age”). His favorite creative method is the staging of a historical episode through folklore and folk mythology, among other, to its characters. For some historical processes (the exile) he introduces the topic of the rupture of a man from their homeland.