DACHA AS A METAPHOR OF SOVIET LIFE: “HABITUS OF DACHA” IN ELENA CHIZHOVA’S NOVEL THE MUSHROOM PLANET Cover Image

ДАЧА КАК МЕТАФОРА СОВЕТСКОГО БЫТА: «ДАЧНЫЙ ГАБИТУС» В РОМАНЕ ЕЛЕНЫ ЧИЖОВОЙ ПЛАНЕТА ГРИБОВ
DACHA AS A METAPHOR OF SOVIET LIFE: “HABITUS OF DACHA” IN ELENA CHIZHOVA’S NOVEL THE MUSHROOM PLANET

Author(s): Elzbieta Tyszkowska-Kasprzak
Subject(s): Poetry, Russian Literature
Published by: Polskie Towarzystwo Rusycytyczne
Keywords: Elena Chizhova; Russian prose; “dacha;” habitus; heterotopia;

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the “habitus of dacha” in Elena Chizhova’s novel The Mushroom Planet. Its bearers are characters whose personality was formed at a certain time under the influence of culture and actions associated with the Soviet dacha. “Habitus of dacha” in the work refers to two different historical periods: Soviet and post-Soviet. Its versions are used by Chizhova to reflect the most important problems and transformations in modern Russia. The image of the Soviet dacha, being a metaphor for life in the USSR, is gloomy and pessimistic, which is not typical of memories of childhood and youth. The post-Soviet dacha is a phenomenon that represents the economic and social processes of the transition to capitalism and the rejection of the legacy of socialism. An analysis of the novel The Mushroom Planet leads to the conclusion, that Chizhova’s characters represent different ways of adapting to new economic and social conditions. The author gives her forecast for the future, leaving alive the character who is unable to get out of the “Sovietness”.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 180
  • Page Range: 134-150
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Russian