Liminality in Jurga Ivanauskaitė’s novels “Agnijos Magija“ (Agnya’s Magic) and „Sapnų Nublokšti“ (Gone with Dreams)

Abstract

The article explores the liminal, i. e. a transitional stage in the novels „Agnijos magija“ (1995) and „Sapnų nublokšti“ (2000) by Jurga Ivanauskaitė. Liminality, according to anthropologists Arnold Van Gennep, Victor Turner and Bjørn Thomassen, is defined as an in-between, threshold state of separation from stable social / cultural conditions, the loss of previous identity landmarks. The aim is to view these novels against the background of the author’s biographical and Buddhist concepts, considering that Ivanauskaitė’s experiences in the East have had a significant impact on the ideas of the novels that are important to us and how they change. The liminal phase is revealed to have positive features, enabling spiritual development and integration into the world through Buddhism and personal effort („Agnijos magija“). However, the stuckness inherent in this stage can also be highly destructive, paralysing, and shackling to potential becoming („Sapnų nublokšti“). In both novels, the liminality experienced by the characters is marked by suffering, illusions, fanaticism, hostility to the environment and susceptibility to alien influences. Liminality is seen as a phase that should end in integration.