Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T06:34:27.587Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Male or Female Time? Milorad Pavić’s Dictionary of the Khazars and Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2015

Ksenija Vulović*
Affiliation:
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, Studentski trg 3, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The erudite and encyclopaedic prose of Milorad Pavić has been rightfully compared to the works of the famous Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. The question for the modern interpreter is the extent to which this critical view prevents us from observing less remarkable similarities between Pavić’s novel and Latin American literary traditions. Interlaced motifs of time and text in the prose of Milorad Pavić can, with equal right, be linked to a masterpiece of the Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. The distinction between male and female time or between male and female versions of the book in Pavić’s Dictionary of the Khazars is well-known. Less known is that in One Hundred Years of Solitude by García Márquez the relationship of time to text also depends on the sex of the characters. Comparing Dictionary of the Khazars and One Hundred Years of Solitude offers a new possibility for approaching the issue of cultural dialogue.

Type
Focus: A Dialogue of Cultures
Copyright
© Academia Europaea 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References and Notes

1.On the importance of the notion of circulation for understanding world literature, see: Damrosch, D. (2003) What Is World Literature? (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press), pp. 4, 5–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Cf. Delić, J. (1997) Fragmenti o H.L. Borhesu u srpskoj književnosti [Fragments on J. L. Borges in Serbian Literature], in: R. Konstantinović, F. Matić and M. Nedić (eds), Horhe Luis Borhes: radovi sa međunarodnog književno-naučnog skupa posvećenog H. L. Borhesu, održanog 24. i 25. septembra 1996. godine u Beogradu i drugi tekstovi. [Jorge Luis Borges: papers from the international literary and scientific conference dedicated to J. L. Borges, 24–25 September 1996 in Belgrade, and other articles] (Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva: Srpska književna zadruga: Јugoslovensko udruženje latinoamerikanista), pp. 112–129, 120–124; and J. Delić (1991) Hazarska prizma: tumačenje proze Milorada Pavića [The Khazar Prism: Interpreting the Prose of Milorad Pavić] (Belgrade: Prosveta: Dosije, Titograd: Oktoih, Gornji Milanovac: Dečje novine), pp. 76, 226. V. Dickov (2008) Borhes i pripovedna proza kod Srba: kritički odjek u srpskoj književnoj periodici XX veka [Borges and narrative prose in the Serbs: critical echoes in Serbian literary periodicals of the 20th century]. MSC Naučni sastanak slavista u Vukove dane, 38(2), Belgrade, 4–7 September 2008, Mesto pripovetke u srpskoj književnosti, Dositej Obradović i Evropa [The Position of the Short Story in Serbian Literature, Dositej Obradović and Europe], pp. 408–411. The Digital Library of the Faculty of Philology of Belgrade University, Web, 1 September 2013. M. Joković (2000) Strategija intertekstualnosti u proznom pismu Milorada Pavića [The Strategy of Intertextuality in the Prose Writings of Milorad Pavić]. MSC Naučni sastanak slavista u Vukove dane, 30(2), Belgrade, Novi Sad, 12–17 September 2000, Srpska književnost u kontekstu evropske književnosti [Serbian Literature in the Context of European Literature], pp. 487–492, The Digital Library of the Faculty of Philology of Belgrade University, Web, 1 September 2013. A. Marčetić (2009) The Khazar face. Serbian Studies, 23(1), pp. 66–67. North American Society for Serbian Studies. Web. 1 September 2013. K. Olah (2012) Knjiga-Bog: (postmoderna) duhovnost u ‘Hazarskom rečniku’ Milorada Pavića, [The Book-God: (Postmodern) Spirituality in Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić] (Beograd: Institut za književnost i umetnost), pp. 120, 231, 264, 305. P. Pijanović (1998) Pavić (Beograd: ‘Filip Višnjić’), pp. 13, 100, 105, 118, 119, 125, 148–149, 282, 318, 323–324, 326, etc.Google Scholar
3.Cf. Baščarević, S. (2002) Mit u književnosti [The myth in literature]. Baština, No. 14, Priština – Leposavić, p. 243. D. Sužnjević (2011) Prisustvo i uticaј Milorada Pavića u Meksiku [The presence and influence of Milorad Pavić in Mexico]. Letopis Matice srpske, 5(488), Novi Sad, p. 879. S. Bošković (2002) Les éléments de folklore slave dans la littérature serbe contemporaine: Milorad Pavić, Le Dictionnaire Khazar, Revue des études slaves, 74, p. 353. Persée Scientific Journals, Web, 15 October 2013. Z. Gluščević (1992) Enciklopedijski duh Milorada Pavića [The Encyclopaedic Spirit of Milorad Pavić]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Nineth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992. Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web. 28 February 2013.Google Scholar
4.Kim, S. H. and Kvas, K. (2011) Magical realism in the comparative context. Filološke studije, 1(9), pp. 181, 182, 184–186, Hrčak. Portal znanstvenih časopisa republike Hrvatske, Web, 3 April 2013.Google Scholar
5.Pavić, M. (2013) Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel In 100.000 Words (The Androgynous Edition), translated from the Serbian by C. Pribićević-Zorić (Belgrade: Zavod za udžbenike), p. 6.Google Scholar
6.García Márquez, G. (2007) Cien años de soledad (Madrid: Real Academia Espanola: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española: Alfaguara), pp. 469471.Google Scholar
7.Lukavská, E. (1990) Gabriel García Márquez: El ciclo de Macondo II. In: Sborník Prací Filozofické Fakulty Brněnské Univerzity, 20, pp. 5455, Web, 31 March 2011.Google Scholar
8.The attitude towards time in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of the most studied problems. Literary critics have come to different conclusions, but all agree on one point: time in García Márquez’s novel is not everyday, historical time. Very often time in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is considered to be cyclical – see R. González Echevarría (1984) Cien años de soledad: The Novel as Myth and Archive. MLN, 2, p. 371. JSTOR. Web, 31 March 2011; K. Kulin (1973) Cien años de soledad. Aspectos de su mundo mítico, Anales de Literatura Hispanoamericana, 2, p. 677. Revistas Científicas Complutenses, Web, 31 March 2011; T. Todorov (1982) Macondo en París. In: P. Earle (ed.), Gabriel García Márquez (Madrid: Taurus), pp. 107, 109–110. On the other hand, critics have seen the simultaneity of different epochs as evidence of the ahistorical nature of time in the García Márquez’s novel – see E. Neves (1972) El zapatito roto de García Márquez, Revista Chilena de Literatura, No. 5/6, p. 172. JSTOR, Web 4 August 2011; E. Rodríguez Monegal (1972) Novedad y anacronismo de Cien años de soledad. In H. Giacoman (ed.), Homenaje a Gabriel García Márquez: variaciones interpretativas en torno a su obra. (New York: Las Américas), pp. 35–36; T. Todorov (1982) Macondo en París. In: P. Earle (ed.), Gabriel García Márquez (Madrid: Taurus), pp. 110–111.Google Scholar
9.In the male copy, no touch occurs. Instead of getting carried away by the touch, Dorothea Schultz sank deep in thought, pondering man’s nature over the pages of Khazar Orations.Google Scholar
10.García Márquez, G. (1970) One Hundred Years of Solitude, translated from the Spanish by G. Rabassa (New York: Harper & Row), p. 421. ‘…pues estaba previsto que la ciudad de espejos (o de espejismos) sería arrasada por el viento y desterrada de la memoria de los hombres […] y que todo lo escrito en ellos era irrepetible desde siempre y para siempre, porque las estirpes condenadas a cien años de soledad no tenían una segunda oportunidad sobre la tierra’ – G. García Márquez (2007) Cien años de soledad (Madrid: Real Academia Espanola: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española: Alfaguara), p. 471.Google Scholar

Further Reading

Blanco Aguinaga, C. (1975) Sobre la lluvia y la historia en las ficciones de García Márquez. In: De mitólogos y novelistas (Madrid: Turner), pp. 2750.Google Scholar
Franco, J. (1980) La máquina rota, Texto Crítico, pp. 18–19: pp. 33–46, JSTOR, Web, 10 August 2011.Google Scholar
Guillón, R. (1972) García Márquez o el olvidado arte de contra. In: H. Giacoman (ed.), Homenaje a Gabriel García Márquez: variaciones interpretativas en torno a su obra (New York: Las Américas), pp. 141170.Google Scholar
Jerkov, A. (1992) O neizgovorljivom [On the unpronounceable]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 24 February 2013.Google Scholar
Lukić, J. (1992) Hazarski rečnik kao postmoderna heterotopija [Dictionary of the Khazars as a modern heterotopia]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 11 March 2013.Google Scholar
Milošević, N. (1992) Pavićevo otvoreno delo [Pavić’s Open Work]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 11 March 2013.Google Scholar
Mihajlović, J. (1992) Čitanje i pol [Reading and sex]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 24 February 2013.Google Scholar
Montaner, F. and Eulalia, M. (1987) Falaz Gabriel García Márquez: Úrsula Iguarán, narradora de Cien años de soledad. Hispanic Review, 55(1), pp. 7793, JSTOR, Web, 11 March 2013.Google Scholar
Pantić, M. (1992) Pripitomljavanje đavola [Taming the devil]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 24 February 2013.Google Scholar
Pavić, M. (2003) Hazarski rečnik (Belgrade: Dereta).Google Scholar
Pavić, M. (1992) Nekoliko reči o umoru [A few words on tiredness]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 11 March 2013.Google Scholar
Radović, M. (1992) Katalog poređenja [Directory of comparison]. In: Književni portret Milorada Pavića, a collection of papers from the Ninth Literary Conference ‘Contemporary Serbian Prose’, 6–7 November 1992, Trstenik, Project Rastko, Web, 28 February 2013.Google Scholar
Ređep, D. (1996) Borhes kao izabrani zavičaj [Borges as a chosen homeland]. Književne novine, XLVIII(939/940), pp. 1819.Google Scholar
Soldatić, D. (2002) Prilozi za teoriju novog hispanoameričkog romana [Contributions to a Theory of the New Hispano-American Novel] (Belgrade: Filološki fakultet; Kragujevac: Nova svetlost).Google Scholar