THE PROBLEMS OF THE EPOCH IN THE PICARESQUE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Rogue (or picaresque) novels portray the moral decay and corruption of society. The primary focus of a picaresque novel is the character’s social environment. The protagonist of this genre is typically an individual from a lower social class who relies on deception and adventurous schemes to secure a place within high society..

In addition to social origins, the birth of the character is often given particular emphasis in the works of the con-artist tradition. A different typological image of the picaro was explored by Polikarpe Kakabadze, whose landmark play "Kvarkvare Tutaberi" was staged on the Georgian stage by Kote Marjanishvili five years after the publication of "Kvachi Kvachantiradze".

In the 1920s and 1930s, the literary circles of the post-imperial space of Soviet Russia, including Georgia, experienced an acute need to comprehend the new, post-revolutionary reality. In the first years of Soviet rule, writers both in Russia (Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov) and in Georgia (Mikheil Javakhishvili, Polikarpe Kakabadze) regarded the picaresque as one of the most suitable forms for reflecting the “model of existence,” the prerequisites of which, among other factors, were seen in the social background and upheavals of the transitional era.

­The picaresque prose of Mikheil Javakhishvili and Polikarpe Kakabadze conveys the central problematics of the era. Through the adventurous exploits of Kvachi Kvachantiradze and Kvarkvare Tutaberi, Mikheil Javakhishvili and Polikarpe Kakabadze crafted artistic canvases that reflect the realities of the first decades of the twentieth century..

Key words: Picaresca, novel, prose, Mikheil Javakhishvili, Polikarpe Kakapadze.