The Space Lost and the Identity (Un)built: Memory as a Form of Identity Therapy in Lida by Aleksander Jurewicz Cover Image

Przestrzeń utracona i tożsamość (nie)zbudowana. Świat wspomnień jako forma terapii tożsamościowej w Lidzie Aleksandra Jurewicza
The Space Lost and the Identity (Un)built: Memory as a Form of Identity Therapy in Lida by Aleksander Jurewicz

Author(s): Aleksandra Zdanowicz
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku
Keywords: : memory literature; space; identity; remembering; trauma

Summary/Abstract: The article offers an interpretation of Lida by Aleksander Jurewicz by examining the condition of a post-Yalta migrant, who cannot adjust to the new place. A detailed analysis of Jurewicz’s use of memories allows us to understand Lida as a form which, through literature, heals the relocation trauma and helps one to restore a cohesive sense of self. By referring to the concept of repressed memory of a traumatized melancholic, multiple repetitions and a sense of lost identity, the author demonstrates how important in this process is the ambivalent role of remembering and journaling. Both process place value on childhood as the crucial moment in the author’s life, but they also hinder the adjustment to the new space.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 17
  • Page Range: 197-222
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Polish