This essay highlights how Norman Manea, a leading writer of the Romanian exile in the 1980s, conveys historical trauma through a distinctly poetic approach in his novel "Plicul negru [The Black Envelope]. Particular attention is given to the dense semantic potential of metaphorical images such as the clown and the circus, which — following the Fellinian model — are used to explore not only the ways in which historical memory is reconstructed, but also the peculiar forms of expression of a cultural and linguistic imaginary tied to the representation of both individual and collective identity. This is achieved by focusing on the tragi-comic figures of the rebellious intellectual and especially of the artist-clown, as they are entangled in tense conflicts with authoritarian political power.
Il saggio mette in luce il modo in cui Norman Manea, uno scrittore di primo piano dell’esilio romeno degli anni ’80, racconta il trauma storico con approccio prettamente poetico nel romanzo "La busta nera", ponendo particolare attenzione al denso potenziale semantico di immagini-metafore come il clown e il circo, per indagare, sulla scia del modello felliniano, non soltanto delle modalità di restituzione della memoria storica, ma anche delle forme di manifestazione peculiari di un immaginario culturale e linguistico legato alla rappresentazione dell’identità individuale e collettiva. Si esplorano specialmente i profili tragi-comici dell’intellettuale ribelle, ma soprattutto dell’artista-clown nel rapporto pieno di tensione che li contrappone a un potere politico autoritario.
Topoi metaforici nella letteratura di Norman Manea. Raccontare il trauma storico con mezzi poetici
Emilia David
2022-01-01
Abstract
This essay highlights how Norman Manea, a leading writer of the Romanian exile in the 1980s, conveys historical trauma through a distinctly poetic approach in his novel "Plicul negru [The Black Envelope]. Particular attention is given to the dense semantic potential of metaphorical images such as the clown and the circus, which — following the Fellinian model — are used to explore not only the ways in which historical memory is reconstructed, but also the peculiar forms of expression of a cultural and linguistic imaginary tied to the representation of both individual and collective identity. This is achieved by focusing on the tragi-comic figures of the rebellious intellectual and especially of the artist-clown, as they are entangled in tense conflicts with authoritarian political power.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
