Memories of a Generation: Vladimir Arsenijević’s Novel "Cloaca Maxima" as Literary Medium of Memory

Abstract

This article examines the aesthetic and literary reprocessing of Yugoslavia's contemporary history around the Croatian War in Vladimir Arsenijević’s novel Cloaca Maxima. It was published in 1994 in Serbia as the first part of a tetralogy and describes the everyday life of a couple living in Belgrade as they are preparing for parenthood. Written and published during the Bosnian War, the story takes place during the most eventful months of the Croatian War, with the Battle of Vukovar and the Bombing of Dubrovnik. So the novel not only deals with the contemporary history of the former Yugoslavia, but is also part of it and was significantly influenced in the conditions of its creation by the war events. This is also shown by the fact that the planned tetralogy of Arsenijević has still not yet been completed. These circumstances make the work an essential part of the cultural memory of the former Yugoslavian states and an appropriate object of study as a literary medium of memory. The article begins with an introduction to the basic terms of memory. It is followed by a description of literature as a medium of memory. The fourth chapter is about the novel itself. Besides information about the author and the content, an overview of the circumstances of its literary creation in that time is given. Finally, the content of the work is analysed and interpreted. The study examines stylistic devices, the figures, the changes in the city and its social environment, as well as the presence of love and fear in times of war.