İLİA ÇAVÇAVADZE’NİN ULUSAL KİMLİK SÖYLEMİNDE VATANA ADANMIŞLIK VE FEDAKÂRLIK
HOMELAND DEVOTION AND SELF-SACRIFICE IN THE NATIONAL IDENTITY DISCOURSE OF ILIA CHAVCHAVADZE

Summary/Abstract: In the poetic universe of Ilia Chavchavadze, the theme of self-sacrifice emerges as a central conceptual force shaping the emotional and ideological landscape of the Georgian national awakening. Works such as მეფე დიმიტრი თავდადებული (Mepe Dimitri Tavdadebuli) “King Dimitri the Self-Sacrificing” and განდეგილი (Gandegili) “The Hermit” reveal how the individual’s transcendence of personal boundaries in favor of the nation’s continuity becomes a key element in the imagining of modern Georgian identity. In these works, sacrificial devotion functions as a foundational component of collective memory, merging national responsibility with a deeply embedded theological sensibility. Dimitri’s dramatic choice to equate the nation’s fate with his own life, as well as the hermit’s ascetic selfconsumption, demonstrate Chavchavadze’s construction of national identity through intertwined ethical, aesthetic, and metaphysical layers. The convergence of historical heroism, religious symbolism, and emotional intensity illustrates how Georgian national consciousness came to be shaped through intersecting dimensions of memory, sacredness, and communal duty. Ultimately, Chavchavadze’s poetic vision presents the modern nation not merely as a political collective but as a moral community defined by devotion, suffering, and a shared sense of destiny.

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