A NOVEL OF PLACE AND SOME CONTEXTUAL APPROACHES
UN ROMAN DU LIEU ET QUELQUES NÉCESSAIRES CONTEXTUALISATIONS
UN ROMAN AL LOCULUI ŞI CÂTEVA CONTEXTUALIZĂRI NECESARE
Graţiela BENGA-ŢUŢUIANU
Cercetător ştiinţific III dr. Habil.
Institutul „Titu Maiorescu”, Academia română, Filiala Timişoara
Bulevardul Mihai Viteazul, nr. 24
e-mail: gratielabenga@yahoo.com
Abstract
The paper calls attention to the only novel written by Virgil Birou – journalist, writer and editor whose activity enlivened culture in Banat during the interwar period. Even if its story was deflected by ideological pressure, ”The Skyless World” proves to depict not only an entangled image of the mining area in Banat, but also a subtle illustration of the traditional country system. With all its regional, generational and contextual variations (beyond the basic geographical premise), Birou’s novel is a work whose parts fit organically. While narrating about some limit situations, disintegration or tensions that have been fiercely unleashed, it reflects the major themes of initiation (e.g. suffering, death). To put it briefly, the writer focuses on the relation between liberty and fate and reveals the boundary that separates truth from delusion. With the undoubtful mark given by spiritus loci in Banat, ”The Skyless World” reveals the twilight facet that has pointed out the Central-European line of thought.