“In a Fiacre” by Arthur Adamov: poetics and problematics

Abstract

Arthur Adamov’s radio play “En Fiacre” is still on the periphery of research interests. Created in 1959, and published in 1963, the play turns out to be material for philological study much less often than Adamov’s experiments on the field of political theatre, carried out at the same time. The article examines the autobiographical origins of the plot of the play “En Fiacre”, an attempt is made to substantiate the author’s choice; the significance for Adamov the artist of the parent-child relations influence theme on the entire human destiny is assessed. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the motif structure, in which the fault motive prevails, linking Adamov’s play with existential philosophy – fault, which acquires ontological connotations from Adamov. The theme of the meaninglessness of the world, seemingly contradicting the pathos of political theatre, remains in Adamov’s work even after, according to a number of researchers, he loses genuine interest in the theatre of the absurd. In addition, the article touches on the issue of intertextual connections, which are extremely important for understanding the creative method of Adamov. The article formulates the main conclusion regarding the poetics of Adamov, crystallised in his confessional prose “The Confession”.