Metafiction as an Instrument of Critique of the Communist Ideology in Givi Margvelashvili's Novel “Colchis Medea in Kolchos”

Abstract

The main subject of this article is the novel “Colchis Medea in Kolchos” (“Die Medea von Kolchis in Kolchos”, 2017) by the German-speaking Georgian migrant writer Givi Margvelashvili (1927-2020). The paper analyzes the metafictional, intertextual, intermediate, self-reflexive and auto-fictional sections of the novel. Metafictional insertions in almost every line of the novel remind the reader of the fictional nature of the work. However, the purpose of metafiction in Margvelashvili's work is not only to expose the fictional nature of literary texts. Its main function is to critique ideology. Marxist-Leninist ideology in the novel is compared to the dust from which the minds of the people of the Soviet Union must be cleansed. Clearing the horizon and the mind from the communist ideology, according to the novel's protagonist Vakushi, will allow people to breathe better, the main characters of the book will be given the freedom of speech, they will be able to express their opinions freely on various issues. The article also discusses the similarities between Colchis Medea and the main creators of the Soviet Union ideology, Lenin and Stalin. Moreover, the article also touches upon why the statue of Medea on the shores of Bichvinta created by Merab Berdzenishvili should read “Medea. Voices” (“Medea. Stimmen”, 1996) by the East German writer Christa Wolf, and why the monuments of Lenin and Stalin should read the main work of the sociologist Karl Marx’s “Capital” (“Das Kapital”, 1867/1883/1894). In addition, we will focus on the “Vakushi’s Stories”, which can be found in many places in the work and which are directly related to Givi Margvelashvili's early work, namely, his cycle of autobiographical novels “Captain Vakushi”. In the conclusion we try to convey the main message of Givi Margvelashvili's metafictional work “Colchis Medea in Kolchos”.