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Representations of Power in the Novel Malvina by Mirko Kovač
Pavle Goranović
; Crnogorska akademija nauka i umjetnosti
Tijana Rakočević
; Univerzitet Crne Gore
Sažetak
Characterized as the first lesbian novel in the former Yugoslav space, Malvina – beyond its compositional innovations – also stands out for its thematic and motif-based diversity. It presents a series of fictional paralogues which, according to Lyotard, constitute the very essence of postmodern culture, or “a force that destabilizes explanatory possibilities” (Lyotard). Accordingly, the novel reinterprets the traditional patriarchal model, in which the protagonist’s defection from the church community – similar to the hagiographies of saints – serves a moral-didactic purpose. Embedded within this framework are ideological paradigms governed by various power structures. The trajectory of Malvina Trifković’s fictional life is shaped by both its symbolic differentiation and its concrete manifestations – surveillance, coercion, punishment, and, consequently, violence. The novel ultimately seeks to demonstrate that the protagonist’s moral downfall results as much from an “excess of social power” – or an “excess of narrative” – as from the arbitrary interpretation of norms. Malvina’s escape from the Serbian Orthodox Women's Educational Cooperative, her marriage to a Croat, her homosexual relationship with her sister-in-law, her exploitation of her stepdaughter, and, ultimately, her return to the fold of institutionalized depravity – are all depicted as systemic paradoxes. This analysis identifies them as part of a broader mechanism orchestrated by dominant power structures: the family, religion, state authority, tradition, and gender roles.
Ključne riječi
power; defection; ideology; tradition; gender roles
Hrčak ID:
338359
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.11.2025.
Posjeta: 593 *