A secret appears in Jančar’s prose in many ways: it is formed by suspense, which is based on two techniques of delaying understanding of the text. These are the slowing-down of narration (analepsis, prolepsis) and gaps. In Jančar’s narrative periodic i. e. chronotopical gaps occur most frequently, supporting the dramatic tension of the mysterious connection to faraway places and times. In the short stories and novellas (Smrt pri Mariji Snežni, Augsburg, Prikazen iz Rovenske) mysterious relations are developed between the characters up to the moment when the connections with the faraway places, times and characters are resolved. The greatest secrets of Jančar’s prose are caused by permanent gaps (Smrt pri Mariji Snežni, Kastiljska slika, Prikazovanje, Pogled angela, Pisma iz drugega sveta) – as the gaps remain unfullfiled and the secret remains unexplained. The key to understanding these chronotopical secrets (the consequences of chronotopical gaps) is Fate (historical and personal), from which the characters can not escape.
|
