The other in “The Balkan Trilogy” by Olivia Manning
https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2025-81-3-211-217
Abstract
“The Balkan Trilogy” by Olivia Manning is one of the greatest books belonging to autofiction as the author moved to the Balkans at the outbreak of the war and returned to England in 1945; the experience provided the opportunity to create the eyewitness testimony. The research is focused on social problems; the background for the Other issue is the beginning of World War II. The main characters’ attitude both to the allied states and the confronting states is under analyses as well as the influence of stereotypes on the perception of the Other. The auto- and hetero images are shown through the British people’s reception. A specific attitude to Russia is due to the historical events, which influenced the world’s perception of the country. Russian territory is excluded from the European area owing to ideological and political reasons, which leads to the development of the Eastern European Other who is not included into the Our Own group. The same images of enemies are described in an absolutely different way, the fact explained by the confrontation of the countries. The European Other is a part of the Our Own group from geographical and cultural aspects; as a result, it is described in a positive way, while the Eastern European Other is characterized negatively.
About the Author
T. M. Khatskevich
Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities named after Fyodor Dostoevsky
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Khatskevich Tatiana Maratovna, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor,
15 Fontanka Str., St. Petersburg, 191011
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Review
For citations:
Khatskevich T.M. The other in “The Balkan Trilogy” by Olivia Manning. Philology and Culture. 2025;(3):211-217. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2025-81-3-211-217
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