„The Awakening of the Person Hidden Inside“: Representation of the Epidemic in “Mikela” by David Kldiashvili (visualization of spatial and social relations)

Abstract

The epidemic is represented in “Mikela” in two manifestations: As an organizing principle of the space determined by the disease and in terms of the representation of the model of social relations.

To analyze the given issues, the textual data showing the disease and the relation to it were identified in the narrative (mainly through the narrator’s report and through the characters’ speech); moreover, the practice of organizing the space was specified based on the passages showing the characters’ action space, and the social network of “Mikela” was reconstructed through the relation to other characters. The value system that forms the basis of the characters’ relationships was revealed. Diagrams were used to classify the textual data, which were created using simple online tools.