„Prošao život“ Jovana Radulovića – roman alegorija o nestanku jednog naroda

Abstract

Јovan Radulovic introduced himself to the readership as a writer of main- land, karst Dalmatia, as well as the literary successor of Simo Matavulj. The first two decades of Radulović’s litarary work were oriented exclusively to the topics related to his homeland. Only since the novel Braća po materi has his interests spread to larger urban areas (Zadar, Šibenik, Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana). By skillfully inserting a multitude of data about the Knin region, about its historical, geographical, social and cultural circum- stances, into the narrative of the novel Prošao život (1997), Radulović highlights the great significance and continuity of Serbian culture in Croatia. In this novel, says the writer, I paid homage to all those who successfully built what was called ’Serbian intelligence on the Coast’. The basic idea that unites all thematic, motivational, characterological, narrative, expressive and qualitative factors of the novel is reduced to the allegory of passed life. It permeates topics, characters, time, events ‒ all elements of the novel. The basic idea is diversified in many different ways and by using different stylistic means: contrasts, sym- bols, allusions, allegories. The idea is particularly emphasized in the passages describing everyday life of the people, as well as cultural and historical events. Even the characters have one common role: to form a coherent whole, to revitalize the collective spirit of the people that, by losing its natural habitat, has ceased to be what it was there. The novel is completely built on Christian symbolism: there is a calendar cycle of the most important Christian and Serbian holidays: Epiphany, Easter, Vidovdan, Saint Nicholas and Christmas; mention is made of Gojko’s Golgotha, wiping feet with a sinner’s hair, mourning the dead, the riders of the apocalypse who come in the form of Ignjat’s killers. The basic idea can also be interpreted as a symbol of the Christ-like suffering of an entire nation.