Deszyfryzacja zmysłów dotyku i smaku w dylogii Władimira Sorokina: Dzień oprycznika i Cukrowy Kreml

Abstract

Deciphering the Senses of Touch and Taste in Vladimr Sorokin’s Duology: Day of the Oprichnik and The Sugar Kremlin

The article provides an analysis of literary corporeality within the tactile and gustatory dimensions, using Vladimir Sorokin’s duology as a case study. This duology comprises a short story entitled Day of the Oprichnik (День опричника, 2006) and a collection of sixteen short stories entitled The Sugar Kremlin (Сахарный Кремль, 2008). The primary aim of the article is to elucidate the senses of touch and taste, exploring their interrelationships and functions in characterising selected fi gures within the duology. The author of the article refers to Mark Lipowiecki’s conceptual framework of corporeality paths’, specifi cally denoted as ‘carnalising and disembodying’. The article proposes a thesis concerning the synaesthetic nature of the senses of touch and taste, particularly in the negative portrayal of Russian power fi gures. Literary examples cited in the article facilitate an in-depth examination of characters in the context of the above-mentioned corporeal categories. The characterisations uncovered by the article shed light on a broad socio-political background and reveal the potential for interpreting the tactile and gustatory experiences of Sorokin’s characters within an aesthetic framework. The article suggests that the haptic events and taste sensations associated with drug abuse expose the demoralisation and sadistic tendencies of Andrei Komiaga, the central character in The Day of the Oprichnik and a representative of the special service. Similar conclusions can be drawn from the portrayal of the monarch’s wife in the story Dream from The Sugar Kremlin series. Sorokin uses irony and absurdity to devalue power mechanisms rooted in violence, cruelty and sadism.