Apokaliptinė vaizduotė ir miestas Herkaus Kunčiaus romane „Dervišas iš Kauno"

Abstract

The paper is based on J. J. Collins’ idea of apocalypse, addressing the issues of political and social liberation. Given the long-standing associations between the city and the apocalypse, this analysis focuses on the links between apocalypse, representations of city (Kaunas) and the characters in the novel Dervish from Kaunas (2014) by Lithuanian author Herkus Kunčius. Levels of narrativity, textuality and intertextuality of the novel are charged with allegories and oppositions such as restrictions-freedom; animal(ism)-human(ism); empty-full; unreal-real; demon-angel; dead-alive, etc. Perceiving the novel as a socially symbolic act (F. Jameson) helps to accept its allegoric critique of our world. The narrative encourages to liberate Lithuanian thought contaminated by Soviet ideology – otherwise everything could be destroyed by the apocalypse, which is marked by the powerful image of the city drowning in flames.