Wenecja – miasto skazane na zagładę w opowieści Diny Rubiny Vysokaâ voda veneciancev

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of spatio-temporal elements in Dina Rubina’s story Vysokaâ voda veneciancev [The High Water of the Venetians]. They are closely related to the theme of death. Venice is shown in the work as a dying city, falling into decay. Signs of destruction are clearly visible in the city landscape, and the space of Venice is largely shaped by thanatic symbolism. However, in the image of this city we will not find infernal features so often found in the European literary tradition. Venice is not a ghostly city of death, but a refuge where the heroine can forget about the traumas of the disease and get used to the idea of finality. The passage of time also reminds us of the inevitable end of existence, both in the general and in the individual dimension. Time here has a palimpsest character, which allows us to feel its continuity, shows the coexistence of the present with the past, making us realize the inevitability of the passing.