Özet:

The article’s hypothesis claims the key role of biblical motifs in assessment of attitudes of the implied author, leading characters and genres in the novel. Aftermaths of the different novel’s ending by way of comparison of the manuscript and final version are displayed; and biblical symbols as applied to the three leading heroes and plot development also. The possibilities of René Girard’s scapegoat mechanism is investigeted in the scope of the leading villain Blažić. Replacement of the Catholic moral by the more common people’s standards is the trace connecting two leading positive characters in the novel. The article displays attitudes of the early critics regarding Catholic or non-Catholic traces of the work (Ivo Lendić, Stanko Petrov); the text also comments more recent assessments of the work’s ethical claims, especially in respect to the widowed Anera (Vinko Nikolić, Dubravko Jelčić, Krešimir Nemec). Methodological, or class-room approach suggests fragmentary reading as well as reading with premeditated tasks; students’ debate and court to the main characters and essays on them are suggested. Field work in the village of Sveti Rok / Saint Rocco / is also stressed as an important method.

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