Aquatic motifs in Zakhar Prilepin’s novel Pathologies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34864/heteroglossia.issn.2084-1302.nr10.art3Keywords:
aquatic motifs, prilepin, water, chechnya, catharsisAbstract
Incorporating aquatic motifs into his novel Pathologies, Zakhar Prilepin ascribes different functions to them. Firstly, in ‘Chechen story’, water takes the form of rain that constitutes an ordinary, thought irritating, atmospheric phenomenon. However, when the young protagonists fight under siege in Chechnya, water acquires a symbolic meaning, becoming a dire portent of death. In the final scenes, set in Chechnya, water changes its connotation and saves the survivor Russian soldier’s lives. Besides, water plays in Prilepin’s novel (Epilogue) the role of catharsis: it is the river’s water where the author is reborn and ‘baptized’ so that soul was purified of the past sins related to upbringing and care for his adoptive son.
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