The Totemic Dependence of the Characters of S. Protsyuk’s Novel «Totem»

Abstract

The article is devoted to the psychological decoding of the totem dependence of one of the main characters of the novel by S. Protsyuk – Victor’s father. The totem in the work is modeled as a metaphor for human destruction, which is manifestation of fornication, fear, hatred, immorality, irresponsibility, moral and psychological indifference, instinctual desires for intimacy, pathological perception of the world, distorted forms of relationships between people. It is based on lust and despair, destroying characters at different levels of becoming – personal, psychological, cultural, national. It is established that Victor’s father in S. Protsyuk’s novel is modeled from several positions – father, husband and lover. Functional load of the father’s mission in the work is reduced to hatred of his son Victor, his psychological trauma; the function of Victor’s father as a husband is to form a discourse of moral and physical masochism based on lust, indifference to Mary’s feelings, as well as creating tension and social distance between the former spouses; the heroic totemic dependence of the hero is most clearly represented in his function as a lover, dependent on the female body and comfort, aimed at obtaining physical pleasure and developing his own philosophy of free relations.

The totem in the novel is justified as a destructive mechanism that has the ability to transmit genetically, programming the next generations infected with the totem, on self-destruction, totem dependence, disharmony, moral and even physical degeneration. It is established that the hero was indifferent to family and social life due to his irresponsibility, immorality, frivolity, adventurism, ability to numerous adulterers. The influence of the totem has led the hero to a moral degeneration and a vulnerability to instinct. The destructive influence of the totem at the end of life led to the awareness of Victor’s father of the vanity, vanity and impermanence of life, unraveling the pathos of adultery and adventurism.