VAZHA-PSHAVELA’S ‘HOST AND GUEST’ AND THEORY OF LIMINALITY (INTERPRETATION)
Keywords:
Anthropological theory of liminality, Vazha-Pshavela, ‘Host and Guest’Abstract
The purpose of this report is to examine Vazha-Pshavela’s ‘Host and Guest’ within the framework of liminality theory and provide a new interpretation of the literary text. The concept of liminality means the pass, the threshold between two different spaces. Liminality is associated with the transformation of social status, values, rules, and principles, but mostly with the process of searching for one’s own identity. According to the liminality theory in anthropology, variations of any kind imply three stages: 1. Separation, or detachment; a break from a certain social unity because of personal preference; at this point, the individual no longer exhibits the features characteristic of the social community. 2. Liminality, this stage involves disconnection from the normative context, constructing a world that is opposed to the previous one. 3. Incorporation/reaggregation, consolidation, reintegration into the community with the new social standing. Liminality theory is considered an interdisciplinary research method with the ability to address various phenomena in the fields of humanities and social sciences. The literature also presents a rather intriguing picture in this regard, adding depth to the understanding of the theory’s application.We have selected the text of VazhaPshavela’s ‘Host and Guest’ for our study based on this perspective. We believe that application of the liminality theory to this poem and identification and understanding of the stages of self-cognition process of the main characters in this context, can lead to interesting conclusions as the storyline develops.