The Concept of Absurdity and its Reflection in Georgian Writing

Abstract

The concept of absurdity appears in world literature even with the authors of the ancient era (Aristophanes, Plautus, etc.), howe­ver, in a more established form it occurs iv later works ("Gulliver's Travels", "Tristram Shandy", "Alice in Wonderland") and Calderon's dramaturgy ("Life is a dream"). In the above-mentioned texts, the characteristic features of the concept of the absurd begin to be rea­lized which in the 20^th century landed in the philosophy of absurd, and the theater of absurd. French existentialists – Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus are at the head of absurd philosophy: It was in their philosophy that the theory of absurd was formed, which, in both cases, took an individual form. Albert Ca­mus dedicated to this issue a brilliant essay – "The myth of Sisy­phus", in which he formulated his views on the philosophy of absurd. The most intense manifestation of the philo­sophy of absurd in literature became the Theatre of Absurd, which was for­med in Europe in the 1950s due to the creative work of Samuel Beckett and his dramaturgy. Beckett, Ionesco, Adamov and other play-writers broke a new page in the world dramaturgy and writing.

It is significant that the Georgian literature even being within the framework of the Soviet ideology was able to reflect this event and give different forms to the literary mode of the absurd. From this point of view, particular attention deserves the creative work of Georgian writers – Guram Rcheulishvili and Revaz Chei­shvili. The “special term Soviet Absurd” is implemented by the author of the essay in relation to their novels as a manifestation of resis­tance against the totalitarian ideology.