Characterization of the Characters in the Novel ʺBook of Bitter Reproachʺ by Ivan Aralica

Mirela Šušić
University of Zadar, Department of Croatian Studies

Abstract

The constellation of history and literary fiction in the mind of the recipient is essentially determined by the author's skill in characterizing characters and realizing literary reality. The multiple literary affirmation of the Croatian writer Ivan Aralica, realized through his historical novels, acquires special significance with his novel "The Book of Bitter Reproach", which is the subject of this paper. Through the reflection of his own historical knowledge about the city of Zadar and about one of the most valuable Croatian monuments of the 14th century, the chest of Saint Simon, which Queen Elizabeth commissioned in honor of the local saint and for the purpose of strengthening the alliance between Zadar and the Hungarian crown, Aralica builds the identities of his characters. The destruction of a city and the construction of the historical personality of Queen Elizabeta Kotromanić through the literary character of a young girl essentially reflect Aralica's ability to portray the condition of its heroes and heroines, regardless of which stage of the historical and meaning hierarchy scale they belong to. The interpretation of Aralica's literary process, which is mainly manifested in the ways of characterizing the characters and the depiction of the state of society, verifies Aralica's contemporary, original literary conception.

Presentation