Mythological Wrestling with Elements: Biblical Intertext in the Novel “The Sixth Day” [Dan Šesti, 1961] by Rastko Petrović

Abstract

Following Genette’s understanding that the epigraph represents a paratext of a “borderline position” that creates a certain kind of expectation in the reader’s perception, in this paper we interpret the meaning implications of the biblical epigraph and title, as well as other biblical motifs in the novel The Sixth Day [Dan šesti] by Rastko Petrović. The elementary assumption in the paper was that those biblical motifs, which appear in Dan šesti in various forms (quotes, paraphrases, allusions, etc.), represent the biblical narrative as one of the layers of the character’s consciousness.
Our research confirmed and, we hope, in some places deepened the point of view already emphasized in the criticism about the interweaving of different traditions in the literary work of Rastko Petrović. First of all, we outlined that this writer, like an anthropologist, was thoughtful about the layers of human consciousness. The cult of Mother Earth, which occupies an important place in Dan šesti, is considered the oldest deity, and through her the novel touches on the most archaic and universal mythical experience, represented in many mythologies and outside the Western world. The mythical consciousness in Rastko’s work fluctuates from such, the most general, through other pagan representations, to the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also specifically Slavic.