TIME IN THE NOVELS OF MILOS CRNJANSKI - Nottingham eTheses

CHAPTER ONE
chanced. He had intended that the main cha~acte~ be
Isak Isakovi~ in the vea~s ~~om 1771 to 1800. but in the
~inal ve~sion the main cha~acte~ is Pavle Isakovi~ in
the vea~s ~~om 1752 to 1760 (99). Conside~inc this
proposition. we can see that Crnjanski's t~eatment o~
historv and time in Seobe and D~uea
knjiea seoba
con~lict with his crand desien. He does not ~ocus on
exte~nal events and the histo~ical backa~ound to the
extent that would lead him to develop a multi-volume
wo~k based on hichpoints in the historv o~ the Serbs.
Crnjanski's p~esentation o~ time in both volumes shows
time as an inner process. in contrast to a ~ocus
dramatic events which would mark the passace o~
on
time as
the series o~
peaks and trouehs envisaeed bv the author
in his o~icinal plan ~o~ the six volumes.
D~uca knjiea seoba was o~~ered to the publishinc
house Minerva bV C~njanski in a lette~ dated 21 Januarv.
1958. ~ou~ vea~s be~ore it ~inallv appeared in print
(100). c~njanskicontinued to claim in interviews that
it had never been his intention to publish the two
novels toeethel".
He said in one intel"view with Pavle
Zori6 that the themes Q~
the two novels were di~~el"ent.
that the ~il"st ieobe concel"fted the stOl"V o~ a man who
isarowina old. no loncer cares ~or his wi~e. and who
believes in the seal"Oh ~Ol" a utopian ~uture. while
Dl"uaa knjic& 8eoba concel"ns a man .who ia in love with
his dead wi~e and seal"ches ~o~ solace in his vision o~
.!U.