THE CONCEPT OF ECSTASY IN GRIGOL ROBAKIDZE’S „THE SNAKE’ SKIN“

Abstract

In the diverse artistic space of modernist novels, attention is drawn to the concept of ecstasy, the analysis of which presents different models and paradigms of a new vision and transformation of the world. The phenomenon of ecstasy can be found in various variations in the works of James Joyce, William Faulkner, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Stearns Eliot and other modernist authors. Ecstasy can be of various types: mystical, religious, philosophical, creative, etc. It can be caused by delving into memory, interacting with nature, feeling happiness or unhappiness, love or hate. This diverse spectrum of the phenomenon of ecstasy, with its symbolic-allegorical and metaphorical meanings, appears in the artistic text as a mystery. This concept appears as an important component of Grigol Robakidze's „the Snake’s Skin“ artistic space. It helps the main character, Archibald Mekesh, to overcome material and spiritual obstacles, to take a difficult and multidimensional path, which he, as a lost child, leads to his home, to his homeland, to God and to himself. A person directly connected to the cosmic existence is presented to us in the form of Archibald Mekeshi, who does not just think about himself or the world, but also inspires. Robakidze rejects the details, gets to the heart of things and events. The methods of depiction in the novel are such that the predominant importance is given to openness, excitement, vision, ecstasy. In this way, the writer manages not to capture the moment, but eternity. The soul seems to declare war on the self-conquering matter, marches against the real facts and violates „everyday physics“, only in this way it discovers the traces of God on things.

Key words:  Grigol Robaqidze, Concept of Ecstasy, Modernism, Georgian Literature