The archeology of the soul: the multiple as an ontological vector of time and existence in The Unwomanly Face of War, by Svetlana Alexsiévitch

Abstract

The presente work aims to investigate the issue of the multiple in the work – The Unwomanly Face of War: an Oral History of Women in World War II, by Svetlana Aleksiévitch –, assuming as a analytical perspective an ontological angle focused on the multiple “I” that experience the war. To achieve this objective, the work appreciates an intercession between two operators used by Svetlana: time and existence. On the one hand, a temporal dimension that extends along a horizontal axis, revealing a permanence of the “I”, which passes through three distinct chronological scenarios – before, during and after the war. On the Other hand, a vertical axis accesible by strata, comprising the existence of multiple “I” that coexist with being at war. This is a indicative of a Being-in-the-World marked by a fundamental despair, in which the subject is placed in direct confrontation with different versions of himself – the Soldier, the man and the animal. The central idea, therefore, is to problematize how before the narrative of multiple wars, Svetlana inspects multiple versions of the “self”; these versions take up space depending on how the intensity of the war phenomenon advances. As for the presence of an ontologically authentic experience this is revealed through a contemplation of Being, something that takes about the ability of the “I” itself to suspend time and space and reconcile with himself and nature.