Place from the point of view of ecopsychology : Czesław Miłosz’s „The Issa Valley“

e-ISSN 2029-8692The main aim of the article is to ponder upon the concept of place and identity in the context of Czesław Miłosz’s novel The Issa Valley. The problem of identity as if dissolves in Miłosz’s novel, because the main character of the book Tomas experiences the place as his genuine ego and naturally identifies himself with the native land or with the land as such. The beginning of the novel is purely bioregional – the knowledge of the place inhabited guarantees close relations between the inhabitants and the land inhabited. Therefore, we can make an assumption that the most basic themes of the book would be determined by this particular relationship mentioned above. While treating the invironment in ones’ specific way, the identity is being shaped specifically. The main character of the novel Tomas is aware of the specific vitality of his place and this awareness lets him admire his life without any confrontations. Genuine sense of tolerance could be stipulated by the deep love and understanding of the place experienced. Therefore, the so called cosmopolitan standpoint or position could be stipulated by the experience of bioregional place, thus transforming “the local” to “global” or “globalising” the local. All those assumptions are being illustrated by the examples from the novel The Issa ValleyVytauto Didžiojo universiteta