Borislav Pekic Research Articles

Gothic Elements in Representations of a Pandemic: Borislav Pekic’s Rabies

The paper deals with the Gothic elements in the representation of a pandemic based on the 1983 novel Besnilo (‘Rabies’) by Serbian author Borislav Pekic. The authors start from the premise that the elements ‘borrowed’ from the Gothic genre play a key role in creating the main plot of the novel: a catastrophe caused by an extremely contagious and deadly man-manipulated version of the rabies virus. The theoretical framework is based on Fred Botting’s (1995) and Jerrold E. Hogle’s (2002) views of Gothic writing as a diffused mode that exceeds genres and categories and contributes its various elements to various literary forms. Furthermore, Gothic elements characteristic of Gothic science fiction, such as madness, monstrosity, the Mad Scientist, people meddling with nature with catastrophic consequences, the apocalyptic vision of human future and “the removal of man from his natural, living state and entry instead into a state of being neither completely human or monster, and neither fully alive or completely dead” (MacArthur 2015: 79) are traced in the novel and analysed in the context of literary representations of a pandemic. As Pekic’s novel is a mixture of various genres and is often defined and described as a horror thriller novel, an attempt is made to offer a new reading that would consider its constituent Gothic elements against a backdrop of the deeply and inherently human drama of the everlasting struggle between good and evil. Thus, pandemics are represented as a kind of catalyst that exposes both deeply human and rational, and deeply inhuman and irrational, impulses, leaving the final outcome of that struggle uncertain.

Grzegorz Łatuszyński and Serbian literature

Grzegorz ?atuszy?ski (1933-2020) was undoubtedly one of the finest Polish translators of 20th century Serbian poetry. Apart from 16 volumes devoted to poems by selected authors, he also published two-volume anthology presenting poems by 155 Serbian poets. Even an on surface analysis of the translations proves ?atuszy?ski?s ability to combine his poetic sensi?tivity with philological precision. Grzegorz ?atuszy?ski also translated two important novels (by Milos Crnjanski and Borislav Pekic) as well as a book of letters by Filip David and Mirko Kovac. Each volume of ?atuszy?ski?s translations is accompanied by a biographical profile of the poets and some characteristics of their work. Another aspect of ?atuszy?ski professional profile is essay writing and journalism. Besides, he translated Polish poetry into Serbian. All ?atuszy?ski?s professional activities has led to a closer cooperation between Polish and Serbian literary circles.

ЖАНРОВСКА ВАРИЈАТИВНОСТ ЧУДА У ЈАБНЕЛУ БОРИСЛАВА ПЕКИЋА: УНИВЕРЗАЛНОСТ И ТРАГИЧНОСТ ЧУДА

У раду се анализира радио-драма Борислава Пекића Чисти и нечисти спрам њене прозне варијанте Чудо у Јабнелу, са циљем утврђивања естетских резултата таквог жанровског варирања. Увиђа се да кроз употребу драмског израза настају нова значења. Анализа се заснива на структуралистичком приступу тексту, као и на његовом сагледавању у контексту теорије модерне драме. Утврђује се да je, упркос површинској сличности између варијанти, реч ипак о два одвојена дела, са различитим тематским тежиштем и идејном подлогом. Прозна варијанта је превасходно дијалог са библијским предлошком, док кроз драмски текст писац оживљава насилно искуство неуклопљености у затвореној заједници. Имплементацијом елемената комичног и трагичног, Пекић потцртава основну идеју о трагичности сваког наметнутог добра. Постоји нада де ће овај рад допринети бољем разумевању својстава и места драме у опусу Борислава Пекића.

Orwell’s <em>1984</em> in Pekić’s <em>1999</em>: Intertextual Relations

This paper examines intertextual relations between two dystopian novels – Borislav Pekic’s anthropological account entitled 1999 and George Orwell’s 1984. In postmodernism, the literary movement which Pekic’s oeuvre belongs to in terms of poetic principles, intertextual dialogue is very active and dominant. I argue that Orwell’s novel serves as a proto-text or an inspiration for Pekic in constructing his own narrative. This is particularly reflected in the conceptual organization of key elements of the narrative structure such as chronotope and characters. The dominant spatial structure taken over from Orwell is the Golden Country, a pasture where all important events in the novel take place. Similarly, the prominent temporal determinant, i.e. the year 1999, becomes a symbol just as it is the case with 1984. As regards the constructs of the plot, i.e. the characters, it is proposed that Pekic’s Arno and the mole emerge as counterparts to Orwell’s Winston and O’Brien. The chronotope of meeting, along with the resonant sentences “We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness” and “We shall meet when flowers bloom again,” is a constant in both narrative structures. Regarding personality traits, Pekic’s last man in the world, i.e. Arno, is well-matched with Winston, Orwell’s last man. Both are modelled as aloof, lonely in their lives and ideas, and as individuals juxtaposed with the group. Furthermore, Pekic treats the motifs of love, history and rats similarly to the way Orwell does. Love fails to ensure the survival of humankind, historical facts are misrepresented, while the motif of rats metaphorically represents danger inboth texts.

Metonymy and Synecdoche for Body Parts in the Novel The Pilgrimage of Arsenije Njegovan by Borislav Pekić

In this paper we will show a relation of lexical metonymy and syn­ecdoche for body parts (eye, head, heart, hand) in The Pilgrimage of Arsenije Njegovan by Borislav Pekic. Our research should show that the mentioned lexemes have a rich polysemic structure. The paper is also supposed to show that both mechanisms have their own prin­ciples of functioning.

Mythological Subtext of “The Rise and Fall of Ikarus Gubelkian” by Borislav Pekić

This work deals with intertextual segments of The Rise and Fall of Icarus Gubelkian by Borislav Pekic. Special attention is given to intertextual relations this novelette establishes with The myth of Daedalus and Icarus, The Prometheus myth and Ecclesiastes . This work’s goal is to examine how relations are established between The Rise and Fall of Icarus Gubelkian by Borislav Pekic and Greеk myths, on the one side, and The Bible , on the other. Thereby, the work relies on the context of the Second World War where the action of this novelette is located. On the basis of this, Pekicʼs critique of ideology and totalitarian social systems are analyzed.

The human park of Atlantis by Borislav Pekic

The paper analysed different types of manipulation of human identity and development, the so-called anthropotechnics. This manipulation is described and analysed as material - the creation of soulless robots, as well as spiritual - the creation of fictional and fragmentary identity of John Carver (Howland), which originated between the multiple layers of narrative and under the influence of the constant monitoring by the Atlanteans. The starting point of the analysis is the idea of a human park by Peter Sloterdijk. The human park is a result of anthropotechnics as well as a reference to the zoological park, in which the taming occurs. The purpose of the paper is to seek the answer to the question on the nature of the relation between humans and their creations which Pekic presents in his novel.

MOTIV TAŠTINE U DELU BORISLAVA PEKIĆA "USPENJE I SUNOVRAT IKARIJA GUBELKIJANA"

Dominantan uticaj poetike mita, koja je obnovljena u XX veku mitskim romanom, polazište je za tumačenje mitskog metateksta u kratkom romanu Borislava Pekića Uspenje i sunovrat Ikarija Gubelkijana. Značajno je ugledanje B. Pekića na poetiku Tomasa Mana, u skladu sa tumačenjem romana u ključu mitskog romana XX veka. Uticaj antičkog i biblijskog mita u pripovedanju, naglašava se postupkom citatnosti, dok se radom teži isticanje nadogradnje polazišnog arhiteksta. Motiv taštine je ključan za tumačenje intencije romana jer je ravan u kojoj se prelamaju oba arhiteksta. Fokusiranjem na značenje motiva taštine u romanu, nastoji se da se obrazloži paradoks razotkriven u motivisanju taštine pripovdanjem.

Time of crises

This paper analyzes a specific relationship between ideology as an anti- historical category and the narratives underlying the novel The Time of Miracles by Borislav Pekic. It highlights the key features of immutable and always the same ideological mechanisms, regardless of the contents of ideas in whose name they act. Among many ideological tools, there is narration as a primary means to produce an ideological system as an instrument of action based on the perception of community. However, narrative techniques also represent the only means that enables freedom. By forgetting about the symbiosis of ideology and narrative, the Serbian literary scene is at a narrative crisis due to its sterile wandering through the text. The solution out of the crisis is not in ignoring the ideological nature of storytelling, but in finding the right distance between the complex reality that surrounds us and the ideas that guide us.

PREDLOŠKO-PADEŽNE KONSTRUKCIJE SA SEMANTIČKOM KOMPONENTOM UNUTRAŠNJOSTI U SRPSKOM I SLOVENAČKOM JEZIKU

U radu se u sinhronom preseku opisuju predloško-padežne konstrukcije sa semantičkom komponentom unutrašnjosti u srpskom i slovenačkom jeziku. Primeri za analizu ekscerpirani su iz romana Borislava Pekića Besnilo na srpskom jeziku i njegovog prevoda na slovenački jezik Steklina. Cilj kontrastivnog opisa podsistema predloško-padežnih konstrukcija dvaju jezika jeste utvrđivanje sličnosti i razlika u konkretizovanju značenja lokalizacije u unutrašnjosti lokalizatora na paradigmatskom planu, dok su prevodni ekvivalenti analizirani na sintagmatskom jezičkom planu.