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Rooms, Décor, Objects. The Intérieur in the Slavic Area (ed. by Emilio Mari)

Vol. 13 (2020): Rooms, Décor, Objects. The Intérieur in the Slavic Area

"U svijetu od orahovog drva živi se duže": Interieur as Failure of Utopia in Miljenko Jergović’s Novel "The Walnut Mansion"

Published
2020-12-31

Abstract

In the works of Bosnian Croat writer Miljenko Jergović (1966-) furniture and domestic things often play an essential role in defining the main characters’ psychologies and relationship with the historical context. As furnishings are linked to the aesthetic taste of different periods, they represent the discontinuity of history and its consequences on the lives of individuals and their families. This article analyzes the description of furniture in one of Jergović’s earliest novels, The Walnut Mansion (Dvori od oraha, 2003), presenting it as a metaphor for the collapse of the social and political utopias of 20th century Europe.