O CĂLĂTORIE DE LA „LUMINA CREDINŢEI” LA ÎNTUNERICUL DE NEPĂTRUNS AL MORŢII: DERVIŞUL ŞI MOARTEA DE MEŠA SELIMOVIĆ
A journey from the "light of faith" to the impenetrable darkness of death: Death and the Dervish, by Meša Selimović

Summary/Abstract: Meša Selimović designs a gnoseological journey of the dervish against a historical background containing elements contemporary to his biography. It follows the axis light – darkness – truth and justice – the loneliness of power and emphasizes the spiritual degradation of the protagonist. Starting from Ahmed Nurudin’s portrait illustrated in the beginning of the novel, this paper studies the symbols and cultural archetypes such as light, darkness, death, fall, journey and the circle present in the 1966 literary masterpiece Death and the Dervish. Interpreted in the terms of a psychological novel with parable elements based on historical material, it is the result of the process of mythification, demythification and remythification. Furthermore, the symbols and cultural archetypes grafted on a historical substrate urge meditation on the human condition.

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