PHANTASMAGORIA AND DECONSTRUCTION OF THE AUTHORIAL POSITION IN T. ASEMKULOV’S SHORT STORY “ATAI”

Abstract

This article explores the use of phantasmagoria, intertextuality, and the concept of the "death of the author" within the framework of postmodern literary criticism. First, the theoretical foundations of these approaches are examined from psychological and literary perspectives, followed by an analysis of the concepts of identity, national consciousness, and folk worldview. In this context, the study focuses on the short story “Atayy” by Talasbek Asemkulov, a prominent representative of this direction in contemporary Kazakh literature. His work, written in the genre of allegorical narrative, is subjected to in-depth analysis. From a literary perspective, the study employs comparative-historical, symbolic-archetypal, intertextual, conceptual, and hermeneutic methods, combined with content analysis, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The article provides a semiotic interpretation of such notions as genre transformation, the absurd, authorial conception and simulation, and the “death of the author.” The narrative is further explored through key postmodern categories, including post-irony, archetype, myth-restoration, mythological consciousness, allegorical technique, and etiological motifs. These elements are analyzed in relation to neo-romantic and neo-fantastic utopian ideas, while also being interpreted through the lens of the national code.

The genre of allegory in literature is a method of subtly conveying not only the narratives of animals but also universal human issues. Accordingly, the genre of allegorical story reflects the theoretical and practical significance of the article. The scientific value of the research is connected with the clarification of universal human and national themes within the genre of allegorical story in contemporary Kazakh prose. The practical significance of the research is that the results obtained can be utilized in courses on contemporary Kazakh literature, contemporary Kazakh prose, and in the analysis and teaching of the literary process of the 21st century. The story "Atayï," where the satire of human existence is realized through the method of phantasmagoria, is an allegorical story identified across several structures, directions, and characteristics. This article will make a notable contribution to the field of contemporary Kazakh literature and contemporary Kazakh prose, and will expand our understanding of the phenomena and terms present in today's literary trends.