Samoubistvo i simbolički potencijal ikone (i) Bogorodice u noveli "Krotka'' F. M. Dostojevskog

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to present the connection between the act of Krotka’s suicide and the icon of the Mother of God, to which Krotka was attached. The paper deals with the symbolism of the icon, which is an image of sublime religious significance, and the Mother of God as a Christian representation. We attempt to analyze their symbolism versus the committed suicide. Also, in the paper we analyze Krotka’s attitude towards religion, icon and the Mother of God. Based on the specific execution of Krotka’s suicide – by jumping from the window while she was holding the icon of the Mother of God in her hands – we examine the symbolic achievements that are revealed in the mentioned paradoxical, apocalyptic situation. The sinful and the sacred are symbolically merged into one – into a death. The framework of one of the greatest human sins – suicide – meets the framework of one of the fundamental personalities of Christianity. The Mother of God – a symbol of purity, innocence and sublimity, a symbol of birth and life, a symbol of salvation and love – is a witness and accomplice in the tragic death of the heroine of Dostoevsky’s novel. Diametrically opposed, the symbolic power of the icon (and) of the Mother of God and the symbolic power of suicide open the novella Krotka to a different way of reading and understanding.