W obronie materii. Dylematy ekofilozoficzne i relacja człowieka z naturą w wybranych opowiadaniach ze zbioru О теле души Ludmiły Ulickiej

IN DEFENSE OF MATTER: ECOPHILOSOPHICAL DILEMMAS AND THE HUMAN ATTITUDE TOWARDS NATURE IN SELECTED SHORT STORIES BY LUDMILA ULITSKAYA FROM THE COLLECTION O TELE DUSHI [THE BODY OF THE SOUL]

The article analyzes three short stories by Ludmila Ulitskaya published in the collection The Body of the Soul. These are Slaughtered Souls, Aqua allegoria and A Man in a Mountainous Landscape. These works introduce new ecophilosophical themes into Ulitskaya’s prose, focusing on the relationship between humans and nature and the dignity of matter. Through an analysis of the characters’ transformations and their experiences related to nature and death, the article shows how the writer explores the fluidity of borders between the physical and metaphysical spheres. This analysis suggests that nature is the space in which this liminal boundary becomes visible. The author of the article notes that although ecological themes are not central in the analyzed short stories, they constituted an integral element of the conception of these works, while simultaneously broadening the range of contemporary issues the writer addresses.