The Motives of Sacrifice in the Plays of Kama Ginkas
Abstract
The article examines the motifs of sacrifice in the productions of Kama Ginkas. The methodological basis of the study comprises a hermeneutic approach as well as a structural-semiotic analysis of the theatrical text. Drawing on the key concepts from the theories of sacrifice by R. Girard, A. Hubert and M. Mauss, S. Freud, F. Nietzsche, and K. Jaspers, the authors analyse such productions as “Medea”, “The Happy Prince”, “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”, “The Lady with the Dog”, “Rothschild’s Violin” and “Hedda Gabler”. The study reveals that in Ginkas’s works, sacrifice undergoes a qualitative transformation from a plot device into a universal mechanism through which the theatre becomes a space for experiencing liminal situations. The paper concludes that the archaic ritual is being reconfigured: from a sacral act serving as a means to legitimise social order, to sacrificial self-giving devoid of a specific addressee (a deity, community, etc.), and further to a complete devaluation of the original symbolic meaning of the ritual offering.
About the Authors
E. V. Belskaya
Altai State Institute of Culture
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Elena V. Belskaya, Senior lecturer at the Department of Theater Directing and Acting,
656055, Barnaul
R. G. Garibov
Altai State Institute of Culture
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ruslan Garib oglu Garibov, Associate Professor of the Department of Theater Directing and Acting,
656055, Barnaul.
A. N. Yurko
Altai State Institute of Culture
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander N. Yurko, Associate Professor of the Department of Theater Directing and Acting,
656055, Barnaul.
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Review
For citations:
Belskaya E.V., Garibov R.G., Yurko A.N. The Motives of Sacrifice in the Plays of Kama Ginkas. ARTE. 2026;(2):52-59. (In Russ.)
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