Antoaneta Balcheva

The Smile of the Reason in the Balkan Literature

The rotation of cultural stereotypes, as if in cinematographic sequences, and the clash between modernity and the fading patriarchal order brought forward a common social and psychological complex in the South Slavic and the Balkan satirical and epigrammatic literature. This produces the first reflections of the way the Balkan man comes into contact with unfamiliar forms of civilization. The amazing abruptness of this change adds special keenness and originality to a multitude of social and psychological events and developments.

The new life styles would not breed tragedy; they instead bring forth the comedy, the farce and the parody. The literature tends to stand closer to its archetype while authors approach the addressees of their works, and the fiction characters cling to their prototypes. All literary works hereby examined constitute the rudiments of realistic artistry in the South Slavic literatures. Their values are commensurable with what the “enlighten smile” has endowed the history of mankind.