Karen KHURSHUDYAN - Works From the Land of the Rising Sun to the Huns of the West
Language:
Հայերեն
The article offers an analysis of Avetik Isahakyan’s narrative cycle, showing how the Armenian writer elevates historical and mythical figures into universal symbols of spiritual and existential quest.Through a comparative approach, it reveals the deep unity of the stories : Lilith, Saadi, Khayyam, Genghis Khan, and Li Taibai, each reflecting on beauty, faith, and human finitude.The study underlines Isahakyan’s endeavor to reconcile the human and the divine, matter and spirit, East and West, within a harmonious and universal vision.Thus, the article presents his work as a mystical and intercultural meditation, where narration becomes a space of dialogue between civilizations and the spiritual values of humanity.
KeywordsGod Saadis Last Spring Omar Khayyams argument with God Genghis Khan Li-Tai-Po Vava Sarkis Khachatryan Maeterlinck Paradise Lost Hafez Eastern literary heritage divine silence Rilke Hugo mysticism Baudelaire human condition
Hrachya Saribekyan - THE EAST-WEST DICHOTOMY IN LOUISA ASlANYAN’S PROSE
Language:
Հայերեն
The article analyzes the East-West dichotomy in the prose of Louise Aslanian. The issue is first examined within the broader context of Armenian and world literature. It is noted that this dichotomy is a central motif in Las’s prose, and the author’s unique generalizations of this theme set her apart across the entire context of Diaspora Armenian literature, as she most profoundly addressed the topic within French-Armenian and Diaspora writings. Having moved from Iran to France in 1923, Las - unlike her contemporary French-Armenian writers - does not portray Parisian reality and Western civilization in concrete, tangible terms; instead, she leans toward a more abstracted depiction of reality, presenting the West as the cradle of mechanization and materialism. To contrast the East and the West, Las employs metaphors: for her, the East is the soul, while the West is the mind that transforms into a soulless machine; the West represents the individual, whereas the East signifies the rejection of individuality; the East is a fairy tale and a dream, while the West is a materialistic reality. The four protagonists of Lass only novel, “On the Road of Doubt”, face an East-West dilemma. One of them remains in Tabriz, where her dreams are shattered. Another, having received an education in Paris, returns to Tabriz, but the local environment leaves no room to realize that education. For Las, the way out lies in the choices made by the two female characters: one stays in Paris and joins the Communist Party, while the other to fulfill Las’s own unrealized dream and conviction - relocating Soviet Armenia, where, in Lass vision, the East-West contradictions are resolved.
KeywordsEast West dichotomy conflict soul mechanization fairy tale
