Maia Jaliashvili
Narrative of modernistic novel is very different from realistic narrative. It is rich with some kind of elements of game. The dialogue with author and reader is difficult. The reader must be intelectual to understand artistic features. In The Georgian modernistic novels, we mean, Grigol Robakidze's ''The Snake shirt'', Konstantine Gamsakhurdia's ''Dionysus' smile'' and Demna Shengelaia's ''Sanavardo'', the game is revealed as a new mastery, a different level of art, which determines the form of artistic text.
There is an opinion, that artistic creativity is a peculiar kind of game. Game elements are in all three above-mentioned novel. First of all, it seems in the style of narrated and in the the composition of artistic system. For example, the epigraph of ``Sanavardo`` can be considered as some kind of musical and semantic tone of novel and that artistic games, that is represented. This can be considered as cryptogram, which is easy to understand for Georgian readers, because they know the well-known Georgian text literature, from which this fragment is given. And for those readers for whom this work is unknown, we mean ''Torture of Shushaniki'' by Jacob Tsurtaveli, epigraph will become clear idea after all understanding the essence of the novel. There are association replacement or interchange in the Georgian modernistic novels. Sometimes, at first sight, quite unexpectedly one episode followed by another episode. This association connection is often ironical and causes the feeling of expectations. In a certain sense some kind of « carnival feeling » (Bakhtin 2010: 240) also appeared such an episodes. This represents a devaluation of values. This demonstrates that the society no longer appreciates the old, traditional values and has a pseudo cultural attitudes. There are close to each other often meet both tragic and comic episodes in novels, or including ironical echo, which strengthens the feeling of tragicomedy of life and, In this way, the reader is relieved from unpleasant tension.
It is known that European culture was based on two traditions, very different from each other stylistic system. One of them is linked to Homer's epic, the second one is related to the Bible. Homer’ style means the complete description of subject and events, narrative clarity. The second style is different. One episode has is often separated from others. The rest is the shadow of another episode. The story is narrated fragmentary. This kind of artistic work contains a lot of symbol, which needs understanding. Artistic work requires appropriate method of interpretation. These two stylistic system it assimilated with each other in Georgian modern novel.
The Writers are using artistic elements of games in all three novels in order to define, on the one hand, the the character of personage, on the other hand, the epoch, society, human relations, To paint the preceding time and the eternal spirit of mankind. There is crossing to each other philosophical, physiological, lyrical, religious and the intellectual streams in Georgian modernistic novels, and by this way, the novel entirely and its narrative becomes very interesting, because methods of artistic game are attractive, original, impressive, diverse, innovative. Boris Eikhenbaum thinks: “art work ... Always represents the structure of the game “ (Eikhenbaum 2010: 126)
Artistic game of the modernist novels is created, first of all,by the way of a new style of narration. The Georgian modernist writers, on the one hand, relying on the traditions of classical prose, on the other hand, using a new one. In general, in modernist prose was revived the method spread and expansion of plot, that was typical for baroque prose. This is named as amplipication. It creates an opportunity to enhance, historical, moral, and religious importance of the story. Jenet talks about three-way of the expansion of the story , and they called as amplipikations: 1. Through the way of development (or expansion) of the story. 2. Through the way of insertion of stories. 3. Through the way of the author's participation (Jenet 1994: 389).
All three methods of amplipication are in the Georgian modernist novels, but especially the second one – addition of associative stories. Also, quite often, When the author somewhat expands the narration, The Story is filled from the inside, and increases details infinitely. For this example can be nominated amplipikation in the novel by K.Gamsakhurdia “Dionysus' Smile”. In This novel is detailed description of various towns and settlements, museums, drawings, the street and there is long conversations, where the characters for a long time speaks, argue for cultural, religious, political or social issues. The main characters have entered in the museum and there will be an extensive description of the exhibited objects and drawings (Gamsakhurdia 1992: 84)..
Grigol Robakidze often describes things, the pictures in detail. Here's how he describes the carpet: “Green Field. In some manner, as if the sun leaves”. (Robakidze1989: 61).Narrative, as an independent phenomenon, has particular value of the XX century novels. Great importance was given to “narrative for narration”, especially in the prose of William Faulkner and Marcel Proust. The narrative in the modernist novel seems to be allocated to the time - space, in which the action is going. It has an independent value. Narrated as if it is shut. The narrative has a great lyrical flow. There are many similar examples in the “Smile of Dionysus”, where the narrative takes the form of hymn and characters is covered by the lyrical narrative. For example, the hymns of wine, trees hymns, fish preaching and other. Virginia Woolf wrote that the modern novel had more in common with poetry, because it primarily reflected is not the relationship of human beings, but the the dialogue with himself in loneliness situation (Woolf 1988: 13). There are a lot of dialogs with himself in Georgian modernist novels. It is, as a kind of artistic game. This style is, first of all, involves lots of different variations of the synthesis of prose and poetry. Often, the help of poetic meditations, philosophical - religious issues get the benefit of aesthetic value. This music is presented in the novels, as well as their internal backbone, which gives the narrative strength. Stéphane Mallarmé wrote: `It is only a reference and nothing else. contemplate of things, full of dreams, dreams coming from the artistic images - this is a true art ~ (Mallarmé 1997: 7). Georgian modernist writers create completely new system of feature by the help of artistic images coming from dream, in which each part has its own separate center. At the same time, the center is connected to the basic of the novel that are sometimes visible, sometimes hidden pillar base. Single fragment of Georgian modernist novel is like a jazz performance techniques. Thus, the each deviation of novel is the element of the artistic game. In general, the narrative technique of the Georgian modernist novels is mostly free. In the novel By Grigol Robakidze “Snake Skin” undress snake skin is a wonderful metaphor, which expresses a novel concept. So says the Taba Taba: This is nothing more symbolic of this country. (Robakidze 1989: 271).
Sometimes most important idea of the novel set by means of a long tale. Saridani tells to young people the story about son of the stone, but this tale loses its independence, it is spread in real space, as if everything is happening now. Matasi is a fabulous “ girl of the river”. It is also a symbol of eternal femininity. That's why the son become a stone that he will see everything forever. Matasi, in this case, is the transient shield. of “girl of the river”, Therefore Archibaldi sees: “Moon: naked women” (Robakidze1989: 156).
Such frequent deviations from the narrative's main line of the novel, create a different form _ created a mosaic picture. The poet's funeral episode is part of artistic game, which is depicting in the chapter, named “Coffin in the sun”. The main message of this episode is that the life and poetry contrasted with each other forever. If it is perceived by the person tragically, he will be unhappy. In this case, the irony is the only way to resist the brutality of life. The effect of game is particularly apparent in the novel “Dionysus smile”, which is narrated by first person.
writes: The writer should know that every person who has expressed itself in words, play a role. Each person (in this case, I mean, not a writer, but his hero), sooner or later, It makes the story and believe that this is the story of his own life. This may be a victim. Reality and imagination compete to each other in the writer's mind. (Frisch 1981: 516). Finally, the imagination wins. This means that the artistic game will continue.
The novel's (“Dionysus smile”), first chapter, “The man who laughs”, leads to the association, and reminds us of Victor Hugo novel of the same name. Here, in itself, a novel title becomes the matter of games. Novel tells the story of the old man, who sits alone in a garden chair, he no longer able to laugh. Because he is disabled person, ugly, and no longer able to accept such look, that the people sometimes called laugh. In this episode the forms of the artistic game is complicated. On the one hand, the writer describes the horror of war, on the other hand, human injustice. “ I am glad that I'm not a man who is not laughing, ', - says Savarsamidze, but throughout the novel in such situations, he finds that life compels him to put on a mask, which, one of them. would be, gloomy man's face. So, Modernist writers often express their points of view with the help of the artistic game.
References:
Bakhtin 2010: Mikhail Bakhtin, Carnivalesque, Literary theory, II, Publishing-House of the Institute of Literature, Tbilisi 2010
Eikhenbaum 2010: Boris Eikhenbaum, How Gogol's Overcoat Was Made, Literary theory, II, Publishing-House of the Institute of Literature, Tbilisi 2010
Frisch 1981: 516. Max Frisch, I will be, even if, Gantenbaini, Tbilisi, 1981
Gamsakhurdia 1992: konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Dionysus Smile, Tbilisi, 1992
Huizinga 1992: Johan Huizinga, Nature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon, J. “Literature and Art~, #3-4, 1992
Figures. Moscow, 1998 (in Russian language)
Robakidze 1998 : Grigol Robakidze, Snake’s Skin, Falestra, Tbilisi, 1989
Woolf 1988: Virginia Woolf , Essays, Tbilisi, 1988
Litinfo (Georgian Electronic journal of Literature), Volume 5, Issue 2
2011G
2011G
http://www.litinfo.ge/vol.5-issue-2/jaliashvili.htmeorgian Electronic Journal of Literature
#2
Narrative as Artistic Game (According to Georgian Modernistic Novel)
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