Symbolism of Space in Artem Chekh’s Novel «District “D”»

Abstract

The study of space is extremely relevant for post-Soviet literature, because, according to Yaroslav Polishchuk, virtual topography, which is carried out, in particular, through the means of fiction, is important for the consolidation of the population, because ethnic groups and territories are first born in the mind and then marked on maps. The article focuses on the spatial symbolism of Artem Chekh’s novel «District “D”». The subject is the elements of space, their meaning and influence on the characters of the novel. The problem is to classify spatial images through which the author conveys the cultural and social realities of late Soviet and early independent Ukraine. To solve it, the author used Marc Auge’s classification of the developed space, which includes places (relational, directly related to social and individual identity) and non-places (transitory, where a person appears sporadically and does not stay for long). The symbolic comprehension of space in Artem Chekh’s novel «District “D”» occurs within the categories of “familiar” / “foreign” on the basis of which all spatial images were grouped. The methods of textual and aspectual analysis are applied, in particular, the relationship of  spatial images with the characteristic features of the urban environment and their impact on the  life and identity of the  characters is considered. The main results are to highlight how urban space relates to social problems, personal searches of the characters and the internal and external conflicts they go through. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the Ukrainian provincial urban space in the novel by Artem Chekh as a complex ecosystem, the elements of which cannot be interpreted unambiguously. Particular attention is paid to the image of home, which in the novel appears contradictory and quite distant from the established characteristics of reliability and security with which it is usually associated. A deeper analysis of spatial symbolism in contemporary Ukrainian novels and its relationship to national identity and social change is promising for further research.