The concept of a citizen in the novel Avelum

Abstract

The novel "Avelum" was published in 1995, in the dark epoch of the recent history of Georgia, when all the "rewards or punishments" for the liberation of the country from the shackles of the Soviet Union have already been settled.  The imperial-inspired inter-fraternal war in Tbilisi, the brutal wars in Tskhinvali and Abkhazia - fragments of the undeclared Russia-Georgia war are over.

The writer dedicates the novel to the freedom-loving soul of Georgians. The very first chapter tells us that "Avellum" is a Sumerian word and means "free citizen having full rights." According to Eka Tskhadadze, “The aim of a widely known novel is to show the impeccable existence and decease of an intellectual, a perfect citizen. An artistic representation of the essence of the Soviet Empire similar to the Labyrinth of Minos makes the life unbearable."

According to Maia Jaliashvili, the character of the text is "deheroized. The writer spent his life in the light of eternity against the background of the lives of Minos and Daedalus". Nana Gaprindashvili, Maia Miresashvili, Nino Tsereteli rightly refer to "Avelum"as a "cult" novel and [advice], readers interested in the "problems of the text to get acquainted with the literary letters and scientific researches of Ivane Amirkhanashvili, Tamar Barbakadze, Levan Bregadze, Zaza Gogia, Emzar Kvitaishvili, Manana Kvatchantiradze, Nona Kupreishvili, Inga Milorava, Ada Nemsadze, Nestan Ratiani, Rusudan Tsanava, Zoya Tskhadaia, Malkhaz Kharbedia, Maia Jaliashvili, Maka Jokhadze.”   Researchers consider the novel in the context of "postcolonial reflection and imagology" and analyze the "problem of mental incompatibility of a binary opposition couple -" free / enslaved ".

The epoch-making chronicles portrayed by the writer allow the reader to see the species diversity of Avelum as a citizen (above we mean three understandings of the concept of citizen: Avelum - citizen of the empire, Avelum - citizen of the nation-state and Avelum - citizen of the fictional/imaginary country).

      Avelum is also a citizen of an imaginary country - the wisdom passed from son to father breaks the legal condition, be on the contrary - the father teaches the son what he has learned from life. Ekaekaterinekato (like little Ukheiro - "A Man Was Going Down the Road ") transmits the knowledge "felt" at the level of intuition to the parent (and not - nourished by experience).