Gaze in Flux

No. 1 - Year 15 - 12/2024

University of Zadar | eISSN 1847-7755 | SIC.JOURNAL.CONTACT@GMAIL.COM

Editorial

We are happy to present the thirty-first issue of [sic], which collects articles on various topics from the broad fields of literature, culture, and literary translation. The red thread connecting them is the fluid and multifarious notion of observation and perception, as reflected in this issue’s title, “Gaze in Flux.”...

Literature and Culture
Maja Pandžić, University of Zadar, Croatia:

Serial ?he Genius of Russian Detection, I. D. Putilin, written by Russian author Roman Lukich Antropov (Roman Dobryi) at the beginning of the twentieth century, undoubtedly falls into the category of detective fiction; however, the titles of its individual instalments, such as The Secrets of Okhten Cemetery, The Bloodsucking Vampires of Petersburg, The Spring of Volga Sectarians etc., suggest a strong influence of Gothic literature. The article aims to expose the presence of Gothic literary devices in Antropov’s stories, including the introduction of supernatural monsters, namely ghosts and vampires, dismal atmosphere, sublime locations, structures, and objects, causing temporal distancing from the present into the past, suspenseful episodes invoking terror, and horror-infusing visualities. Moreover, the article proposes that the intention behind these elements is not merely to complicate the mystery and intensify the reader’s experience but also to convey cultural meaning related to t...

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lc.7
Literary Translation
Osamu Dazai and Matea Cakić, Ema Lovrek i Dragana Špica:

Kad trešnja ocvate i počne listati kao sada, ja se uvijek toga sjetim – pripovijedala je gospođa. Prije trideset pet godina otac je još bio živ, a u obitelji, ako se to može tako nazvati jer sam majku izgubila još prije sedam godina, kao trinaestogodišnjakinja, bile smo samo još mlađa sestra i ja. Imala sam osamnaest godina, a sestra šesnaest kad smo se preselili u prefekturu Shimane, u gradić od dvadesetak tisuća ljudi uz Japansko more u podnožju starog feudalnog dvorca. Moj je otac tu dobio posao ravnatelja niže srednje škole. Kako u samom gradu nismo našli prikladnu kuću, unajmili smo dvije sobe u hramu na periferiji, prema brdima, i tamo smo živjeli šest godina, sve dok otac nije dobio premještaj u školu u gradu Matsue. Udala sam se po dolasku u Matsue, u jesen svoje dvadesetčetvrte godine, što je za ono vrijeme bilo prilično kasno. Premda sam imala mnoge bračne ponude, do udaje mi nije bilo toliko stalo da bih napustila dom jer sam shvaćala da bi se bez mene obitelj potpuno raspal...

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lt.1
Literature and Culture
Chia-Chieh Mavis Tseng, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan:

Written in the aftermath of the Great Exhibition of 1851, Villette represents Charlotte Brontë’s literary exploration of nineteenth-century glass culture and its significant impact on urban identity and perception. This essay examines how glass in urban spaces and consumer culture reshapes characters’ self-perception and their experience of city life. After briefly discussing Brontë’s lasting interest in urban themes and her visit to the Great Exhibition, I focus on scenes in Villette involving mirrors and windows. These scenes reveal Lucy’s fragmented sense of identity through her reflections and her desire to control and frame her visual experiences. Finally, I analyze the exotic scene in Chapter 38, “Cloud,” where a spectacle is imaginatively presented behind a pane of glass, reflecting the display principles of the Great Exhibition.Keywords: Villette, Charlotte Bronte¨, glass, mirrors, windows, the Great Exhibition, urban identity, spectacles

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lc.2
Literature and Culture
Ana Ille Horvat, University of Zagreb, Croatia:

Valter Hugo Mae tim je riječima u romanu opisao početak, zapravo nastavak potrage za smislom, iskazujući istinske emocije ljubavi, privrženosti i požrtvovnosti, baš kako i dolikuje majkama.Bog u tami (Deus na escuridao) posljednji je dio druge tetralogije Valtera Huga Maea, portugalskog književnika novije generacije, jednog od najznačajnijih portugalskih umjetnika 21. stoljeća. Svojom osebujnom poetikom ostavlja važan trag u razdoblju suvremene književnosti, koje istaknuta teoretičarka književnosti Ana Paula Arnault naziva hipersuvremenošću (hipercontemporaneidade).Ovaj četverodijelni ciklus obuhvaća romane svedene pod zajednički naziv „braća, otoci, odsustva”. U spomenutu tetralogiju spadaju romani Dehumanizacija (A Desumanizaçao) iz 2013. godine, zatim Beskrajno poetični ljudi (Homens Imprudentemente poéticos) iz 2015., Bolesti Brazila (As Doenças do Brasil) iz 2021. godine te posljednji o kojem pišemo, Bog u tami (Deus na Escuridao) objavljen 2024. godine.

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lc.9
Literature and Culture
Tanushree Mitra, Arindam Modak and Sutanuka Banerjee:

This paper explores how Eurocentric ideas of nationalism and cosmopolitanism differ from Indian thinker and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore’s views and in what ways the intersection between nationalism and cosmopolitanism takes place in his novel The Home and the World (1919), originally published as Ghare-Baire in 1916. The novel will be analyzed mainly through Kai Nielsen’s philosophy of cosmopolitan nationalism (1999) and Kwame Anthony Appiah’s concept of rooted cosmopolitanism (2005). Tagore yearned for the conglomeration of different cultures and despised narrow perspectives on nationalism as constricted by geographical boundaries. As per his humanitarian worldview, he prioritized cosmopolitanism as his forte. The novel does not propose any conflict between ‘the home' and ‘the world'; rather, it suggests a state in which the home and the world would be negotiated to form a harmonious whole. In the Swadeshi period (1905-1911), when the future of Indian self-rule was being mulled ov...

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lc.5
Literature and Culture
Senka Božić- Vrbančić, University of Zadar, Croatia:

This article examines the aesthetic category of the ‘Instagrammable’ and explores what it means for destinations like Telašćica Nature Park to be seen as Instagram Hot Spots. I begin by addressing issues arising from the spread of social media platforms like Instagram, particularly the role of marketing and the subtle operations of digital algorithms. From there, I explore the shifting notion of “authenticity” in tourist sites like Telašćica, where the Instagrammable aesthetic takes root, redefining what it means for a place to be “seen.” I argue that ‘Instagrammable’ as an aesthetic category resonates with the ‘picturesque,’ which once reflected economic and colonial entanglements; now, the Instagram aesthetic speaks to an era of communicative capitalism (Ngai; Dean). Within this aesthetic framework, Telašćica is confronted with what Jodi Dean calls a ‘whatever subject’ – a subject whose “whatever” signals a form of communication that lacks depth, a hollow connectivity that does not s...

DOI: 10.15291/sic/1.15.lc.4