Lithuanian partisans in a contemporary Lithuanian novel: collective memory and interpretation of history

Straipsnyje analizuojamas Lietuvos partizanų, partizaninio karo, istorijos vaizdavimas keliuose romanuose: Mariaus Ivaškevičiaus „Žali“ (2002), Teodoro Četrausko „Tarsi gyventa“ (2004), Juozo Jasaičio „Per sutemas“ (2008), Petro Venclovo „Kartybių taurė – iki dugno“ (2011), Antano Šileikos „Pogrindis“ (2012), Justino Sajausko „Neužmirštami Suvalkijos vardai“ (2014). Romanai nagrinėjami aktualizuojant Maurice‘o Halbwachso kolektyvinės atminties koncepciją, Haydeno White‘o istorijos diskurso sampratą, Umberto Eco interpretacijos teoriją. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad dauguma autorių renkasi istorinį diskursą, kuris pasakoja, o mažuma – kuris naratyvizuoja. Partizaninio karo kolektyvinė atmintis yra siejama arba su abstrakčiais, arba su konkrečiais partizanais; istorijos diskursas suponuoja įvairias interpretacijas, kurios rodo skirtingas autoriaus, teksto, skaitytojo intencijas.The article deals with the depiction of Lithuanian partisans, guerrilla war and history in the novels "Žali" (The Green, 2002) by Marius Ivaškevičius, "Tarsi gyventa" (As If Lived, 2004) by Teodoras Četrauskas, "Per sutemas" (Through the Dusk, 2008) by Juozas Jasaitis, "Kartybių taurė – iki dugno" (The Chalice of Bitterness – to the Bottom, 2011) by Petras Venclovas, "Pogrindis" (Underground, 2012) by Antanas Šileika [Canadian writer], and "Neužmirštami Suvalkijos vardai" (Unforgettable Names of Suvalkija, 2014) by Justinas Sajauskas. The novels are analysed looking for collective memory, history and it’s interpretation by actualising Maurice Halbwachs’ concept of the collective memory, Hayden White’s notion of the discourse of history and Umberto Eco’s theory of interpretation. In the works of the above mentioned authors, the reconstruction of the past, history, the relation between the reality and fiction, narrativity, identity, representation and interpretation are treated very differently. The main reason of this is that the majority of the authors chose the historical discourse which narrates, while only few selected the historical discourse which narrativizes. Novels, "Žali" and "Tarsi gyventa", are an attempt to interpret history implicitly refreshing the forgotten collective memory and creating a narrative. An artistic interpretation of Juozas Lukša-Daumantas’ narrative is presented in the novel "Pogrindis". It is based both on imagination and historical facts, aiming at acquainting the Western reader with the unknown partisan war in Lithuania. "Kartybių taurė – iki dugno" and "Per sutemas" show not only the partisans as the collective memory but also what the latter is supposed to be. "Neužmirštami Suvalkijos vardai" attests how the artistic devices help the author to convert the autobiographical memory of The conclusions state that the collective memory of the guerrilla war is related either to abstract or concrete partisans; the discourse of history determines the interpretations showing various intentions of the author, the text, and the reader. Lithuanian novelists do not raise the problem of history, they simply use the historical realia, contexts and interpretative strategies