Abstract:
Lia Sturua's novel of perceptions "A stone dropped in milk"
is dedicated to the eternal city – Paris, a city known for its artistic
freedom. It is indispensable for artists and it is quite logical
that the theme of Paris, this special city, has been so relevant in
world literature for centuries.
The attitude of the author to the countries and cities always
"has a literary cover". French literature and art are so close to
Lia Sturua, that she never feels like a stranger in Paris. The city
with its majesty is beyond all styles and trends for her. She refers
to Parisian mornings as "a gift from God" and describes the
city's streets as "a road going to the stars”. For the poetess, this
city serves as a catharsis and a fleeting spring that could end at
any moment. Here, the recollections of home intensify the sense
of loss and tragedy. Paris is a true paradise for the poetess from Tbilisi who left the civil conflicts, darkness and cold behind,
which is inspiring to write. The essay's author explores the history
of the city and creates an interesting cross-cultural dialogue
while keeping in mind Paris' multicultural past and present.
In travel writing, there is a fairly stereotyped perception of
Paris. The existence of a stereotype is a fact that has characteristic
features unique only to it. In most cases, the stereotype is
unchanged; it can be reduced and evaluated. When it comes to
stereotypes, the evaluative moment is crucial since it usually
occurs against the background of the opposition "mine – the other".
From a binary oppositional pair, either its first member
(“mine”) acts as an ideal, or, vice versa, the second member
(“the other”) serves as an ideal against the background of its
criticism. The novel of perceptions “A Stone Dropped in Milk" is
a captivating literary text, which stands out for its variety of artistic
forms, literary allusions and metaphorical thinking. France,
Paris associated by the author of the essay with literature and
literary characters from her youth, is not completely alien to
her, even though this city will never become her native town. “A
Stone Dropped in Milk” does not specifically demonstrate the
concept “other”, which is in harmony with “own”. It’s worth mentioning,
that “other” is maximally reduced. The topic of alienation
is absolutely overcome in the narration.
