Original scientific paper
VILOVIĆ’S CONFLICT WITH RELIGION, THE CHURCH AND HIS PEOPLE
Ivan J. Bošković
; Faculty of Philosophy, University of Split
Abstract
Đuro Vilović is one of the most controversial figures in Croatian
literature of the 20th century. Writer of a dozen books, five of which
were novels, started his literary work deeply embedded in the
surroundings of the Croatian literary period between the two world
wars.
In his stories, feuilletons, vignettes, he is an advocate of the
values of home, family and religion, partly because of his clerical
calling.
A great crossroad in his life occurs when he leaves for Međimurje;
he left priesthood, attempts to convert to orthodox religion, then to
Protestantism, and eventually, at the beginning of World War II, as
a friend of Niko Bartulović, ends up joining the Chetnics as a close
associate of Draža Mihailović, for which he would later be sentenced
to prison.
Changing his personal convictions and beliefs, Vilović also
changes his literature as a weapon for his vendetta against religion
and the Church, which this work discusses.
He did this consciously and with hatred because he knew the
role that the Church had in the formation of national conscience of
the Croatian people throughout history.
From his hatred for the Church, seen in pages from his novels,
comes also his unconcealed hatred for his own people and his denial,
which will, eventually, as a renegade from his own religion and
people, but at the same time as an apologist of Chetnics, push him
away from the interest of our literature and literary historiography.
Keywords
literature; apologist of Chetnics; ex-priest; hatred for the Church; religion and people
Hrčak ID:
23572
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2006.
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