The concept of betrayal and morality on the example of Vazha-Pshavela’s “Search for Blood”

Abstract

Moral and ethical issues are one of the key issues in Vazha-Pshavela's work. The presentation of the moral ideal of man is particularly delicate and responsible for the writer, because it is precisely such outstanding heroes who try to improve public thinking and establish ethical values. The function of literature is also to form a moral ideal and arouse the reader's desire to achieve it.

In the communities of Pshav-Khevsureti, the norms of human relations, the protection of goodness and justice, and love for the country and neighbor were treated with particular rigor. In a word, the mountain was unbreakable in its way of life.

Customs nourished by pagan religious beliefs sometimes forced members of the community to perform without a word: the tradition of bloodletting, cutting off an arm, and killing a foreign “slave of the image,” which was considered a religious norm in this society. Obviously, this violated the dignity of distinguished individuals, since the existing rules required ignoring the laws of human behavior and consciousness.

The moral and ethical spectrum of Vazha-Pshavela’s epic works is very wide. In this case, we are limited to only the poem “The Search for Blood,” in which, in addition to moral values, the anatomy of betrayal is also visible. The writer showed us these two deep psychological layers of a person on one plane. It is also worth considering that Vazha-Pshavela deeply penetrates the ethnopsychology of the Georgian nation and revives the fundamental moral principles of national consciousness in artistic language.

The dramatic plot of the poem, the confrontation between dignity and dishonor, reveals the characters' personalities, their personal values, and weaknesses. In the poem, a very difficult internal struggle takes place before our eyes. The egocentric aspirations of individual individuals clash with the interests of freedom-loving people. The struggle is uncompromising and relentless. This contradiction, however, reveals a healthy point of view.