Alchemic symbols as a means of psychoanalytical description in N. Kononov's story «Source of Injury»

Abstract

The story «The Source of Injury» by Nikolay Kononov is as a psychoanalytic report that has a therapeutic effect for the narrator. The characteristics of the three main characters are con­sidered in terms of their alchemical symbolism. This point of view makes it possible to identify the psychological function of each character as a reflection of a certain aspect of their psyche. Ovechin, whose image is dominated by the solar symbolism, appears as a projection of Ego and of momentary consciousness. Olya, who is associated with the images of the moon and air, appears as a projection of the Anima, which refers to the subconscious. The narrator and his character play the role of the conscious part of the psyche abiding behind the momen­tary consciousness. Although the narrative is evidently about a mental illness, a split person­ality in the state of psychosis, it still structures past events and their analytical understand­ing, leading to their strictly individual perception.

Keywords

• n. kononov
• auto-narrative prose
• i-narrator
• psychoanalysis
• alchemical symbolism