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2019 Vol. 10 №2

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Malevanaya D. A.

Alchemic symbols as a means of psychoanalytical description in N. Kononov's story «Source of Injury»

DOI
10.5922/2225-5346-2019-2-6
Pages
64-72
N. Kononov auto-narrative prose I-narrator psychoanalysis alchemical symbolism

Abstract

The story «The Source of Injury» by Nikolay Kononov is as a psychoanalytic report that has a therapeutic effect for the narrator. The characteristics of the three main characters are con­sidered in terms of their alchemical symbolism. This point of view makes it possible to identify the psychological function of each character as a reflection of a certain aspect of their psyche. Ovechin, whose image is dominated by the solar symbolism, appears as a projection of Ego and of momentary consciousness. Olya, who is associated with the images of the moon and air, appears as a projection of the Anima, which refers to the subconscious. The narrator and his character play the role of the conscious part of the psyche abiding behind the momen­tary consciousness. Although the narrative is evidently about a mental illness, a split person­ality in the state of psychosis, it still structures past events and their analytical understand­ing, leading to their strictly individual perception.

Reference

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