Functions of Irony in Ivailo Petrov’s Novel Before I Was Born, And Afterwards, And After My Death

Abstract

Recognized as one of the most prominent Bulgarian authors of the twentieth century, Ivailo Petrov managed to navigate through the hazardous environment of tight authoritarian social and political control, while remaining true to himself and genuine in his literary expression. His first works ? which appeared in the 1950s ? suggest a degree of ideological wandering, masterfully veiled by his engaging narrative skills. Written over a span of twenty-five years and sometimes treated as a trilogy, the novel Before I Was Born, And Afterwards, And After My Death is unique in Bulgarian literature not only with its prolonged creation and peculiar structure but also with its diverse, multi-level set of meanings, achieved through a number of rhetorical devices, most striking and largely employed of which is irony. This study identifies the types of irony used by the author and their functions to create multiple meanings, namely, indications of personal ideological changes, intertextual parodic references to “cult” works of Bulgarian literature, and skillfully veiled questions about the nature of human existence within the limitations and under the oppression of authoritarian society.