TIME IN THE NOVELS OF MILOS CRNJANSKI - Nottingham eTheses

CHAPTER F~VE
aeainst the diarist's tendencv to conf~ne h~s experience
to the irrecoverab~e past. personif~ed bV Raj~6.
In his writ~ne the d~ar~st's re-creations of his
~ife
in memorv and life in dream are alleaorica12y
represented by the two_f~eures
of Raji6 and the sa~lor.
Thev are s:Lans :Ln which are codified the diarist's
beine-:Ln-time as a dialectic. This type of dia~ectic
has been described by Paul de Mans
It becomes a conflict between a
conception of the self seen in its
authentica~~v temPOra~ predicament and a
defensive strateav that tries to hide
from this neeative se~f-know~edee (46).
Raji6 and the sai~or
are sites for the repercussions of
the diarist's rea~isation of his "tempora~ predicament".
The diarist de~ves
into his past and dreams. yet from
the know~edee
which they provide cannot form an imaee of
his self in the present of-writine.
His experience and
imaaes of self are isolated in other spheres. temporal~v
isolated from the now of writine.
The diarist frequent~y
interjects the phrase "se6am
se" (ttl rememebr") into his diary.
This is the "I" Of
the diarist. a sien of his writine in the present.
His
memories are re~uctant.
and repressed desire.
unhappy memor:Les of unfulfi~led
Time in this context is the
structure of frustration.
However. he cannot foraet his
memories. althoueh he can refuse to face their truth.
The inabi~itv
to foraet is a paradox of the human
condit:Lon described by Nietzsche:
239