Beginning and end
The subject of soil in Platonov
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
For Platonov, soil plays a key role. In almost all his works, building ground or farmland is a central feature. Platonov works with pre-Christian and Christian themes such as the creation of man from clay. Soil stands for the beginning and the end, for birth and death, for utopia and anti-utopia. It represents the mother principle and the feminine and is associated with birth and protection, sex and sexual intercourse.
(Osteuropa 8-10/2016, pp. 283–296)