დავით კლდიაშვილის პერსონაჟთა სახელ-გვარების თაობაზე/ David Kldiashvili’s Character Names

Abstract

In classical literature the choice of character names does not seem to be an automatic, easy process. This is the case with David Kldiashvili’s works as well. Unlike E. Ninoshvili and G. Tsereteli, David Kldiashvili does not employ any telltale names in his writings. At first sight, the character names evidenced in his works are ordinary, widespread Christian names encountered in Imereti region of Georgia: Platon, Kirile, Aristo, Jimsher… Melano, Elene, Dariko; the family names also sound realistic: Samanishvili, Miminoshvili, Bregadze, Kamushadze… Thus, picking a specific Christian or family name for a character does not seem to be essential for D. Kldiashvili. However, the study of the writer’s manuscripts has proved the opposite: in the process of creating his works the author often changed character names, he seemed to be in constant search of suitable names for them. In this reference, Sergo Kldiashvili’s (David Kldiashvili’s son) memoirs on one of the stories -“Solomon Morbeladze”, are of particular interest: David Kldiashvili told his son: “I had the plot of the story, but I couldn’t decide on a name for the main character; that troubled me and hindered me from finishing the story.” At that time, it happened so, that he heard the family name Morbedadze, that according to D. Kldiashvili struck him “as a surprise, I modified Morbedadze to Morbeladze, the family name ‘dragged’ the Christian name Solomon, and the story was written with ease. It was not just work but a true pleasure!’ It is difficult to say why the family name Morbeladze ‘dragged’ the Christian name – Solomon, or why the writer considered this pair to be a perfect match for his character. Obviously, David Kldiashvili tries to fit names to his characters on the basis of their personal qualities; as the writer suggests: every character should have “a name of their own and not a borrowed one”. The given phenomenon triggers a number of questions; is it plausible to answer them or find any explanation to the above-said? Presumably, the answers are known to the author…or, more convincingly, to the one “who grants us inspiration” (Anna Kalandadze).