“The Soul of the Teacher” in the Field of Choice, Bifurcation and Intertextuality

Abstract

The text is focused on the idea of Elin-Pelinov’s short story “The Soul of the Teacher” being included in the curriculum for the 12th grade, and more specifically – in the development of the theme “The choice and the bifurcation”. The argument for the proposal is based, first, on the ironic mode of interpretation of the theme in the story, different from those of the mandatory texts according to the curriculum, with which the quoted theme is presented, thus presenting the possibility to diversify its interpretation. Second, on the productivity of the intertextual connections of the narrative with the other texts united by the theme, and specifically with Yavorov’s “Two Souls”. Third, how the narrative represents Elin Pelin's attitude towards modernist ideas present in the first decade of the 20th century, the emphasis on which is interpreted as a step in the direction of overcoming the stereotypes of reading this work within the limits of social realism.