The symbolization of the fragmented plot structure in Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novels

Year, pages: 2023, 36 - 46

Ludmila Ulitskaya is considered by many to be a master of short fiction, and her novels are sometimes seen as an unsuccessful attempt to transcend the principles of the short forms. This article argues that Daniel Stein, Interpreter (2006; Eng. trans. 2011), The Big Green Tent (2010; Eng. trans. 2015) and Jacob’s Ladder (2015; Eng. trans. 2019) are a special type of novel based on a duality that Yuri Lotman identified as the basic principle of the functioning of the semiosphere. The plot structure of Ulitskaya’s novels is, on the one hand, discrete, that is, manifestly and strongly fragmented in space and time. On the other hand, however, it is continuous, that is, clearly unified through trans-symbolization of the structure, which is less perceptible on the surface. These non-explicit structural connections gain symbolic attributes and play a fundamental role in ensuring the unity of the plot in three of Ulitskaya’s works.

Szabó, T. 2023. The symbolization of the fragmented plot structure in Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novels. In World Literature Studies, vol. 15, no.1, pp. 36-46. 1337-9275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/WLS.2023.15.1.3

Szabó, T. (2023). The symbolization of the fragmented plot structure in Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novels. World Literature Studies, 15(1), 36-46. 1337-9275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/WLS.2023.15.1.3

Publisher: Ústav svetovej literatúry SAV, v. v. i.