RAJA RAO: THE SERPENT AND THE ROPE. A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE AUTHOR, THE TEXT AND THE READER

Abstract

The point of departure for this article is to explore the possibilities of Bakhtin–s creative chronotope, i.e. the dialogue between the author, text and reader, using the example of Raja Rao–s novel The Serpent and the Rope. The article consists of two major parts. The first part presents a short critical survey of three different interpretations. It offers basic assumptions for these three interpretations, expounding their similarities, differences, and possible flaws. The second part is an attempt at a chronotopic interpretation of the novel, which offers a starting point for the possibility of simultaneous different interpretations in the scope of Bakhtin–s ideas about the creative chronotope. The chronotopic interpretation is based on modifications of Bakhtin–s theory of chronotope offered by Schmidt and Bruun, and it focuses on the categories of time and space, on interpretation of characters, relations between characters and their motives. The conclusion offers a summary of the results and a proposed modification of the theory of the creative chronotope based on the conception of translocality.