SYMBOLIC DISCOURSE IN THE CROATIAN MODERN NOVEL: CITY AS THE IDENTITY OF A PROTAGONIST AND AUTHOR

U članku se razrađuje identitet grada koji je poistovjećen sa sudbinom samoga autora u tijeku najtežega dana napada na grad u Domovinskome ratu. Poistovjećujući se s gradom, on se istodobno pretvara i u središnji lik romana. Riječ je o posve drukčijemu i dosad nepoznatome ratnom pismu u Hrvatskoj jer je djelo posvema okrenuto transcendenciji. U romanu je rat tek sila zla, a ne politički proizvod. Tragičnost rata u Hrvatskoj kao književna tema prikazana je na sveopćoj civilizacijskoj razini kao iskonsko prokletstvo čovječanstva. Grad Zadar, smješten na obalama Sredozemlja, svojom povijesti i baštinom koja se razara preuzima na se ulogu Čovjekova glasnogovornika. Kada se ruši grad kao sveti prostor, čovjek gubi svoj vlastiti identitet. Povratak identiteta moguć je samo na simboličkoj i metafizičkoj razini pa roman obiluje simboličkim i arhetipskim slojevima i motivima.The article elaborates an identity of the city which is identified with the author’s destiny during the hardest day of attacking the city in the Croatian War of Independence. Identifying himself with the city, at the same time he turns himself in the main novel protagonist. That is a completely different and so far unknown war letter in Croatia, because the work is completely turned to transcendence. In the novel the war is the evil force and not political product. Tragicalness of the war in Croatia as the literary topic is shown at the general civilization level as a true human damnation. City of Zadar, located at the Mediterranean coasts, with his history and destroying heritage takes over the role of human spokesperson. When a city as the holy area is destroyed, a human loses his/her own identity. Return of identity is possible only at the symbolic and metaphysic level, therefore the novel is full of symbolic and archetype motives