It is clear that the absolutist can only indulge in repetition because
general rules are weak. Had they been strong, he could never have
co-opted their "purpose". But since "power is divorced from its object",
he can divert power to protect his own Island. But for this very
reason, the Barriers of his Island are weakened. They collapse when
they are needed most, and the animist unavoidably breaks out of them in
many ways – all subversive. For like ornament on a gothic cathedral,
expansion cannot be contained. This makes the spartan repertoire
of repetition singularly vulnerable to caricature; as compared, for instance,
to Western advertisement. If "things" seem "alive", this is a result
of animistic "twists and turns" gone rampant, controverting the absolutist's
Barriers. People react to this with a mixture of resentment, suspicion
and humor:
Tólya
came to an unknown city and was looking desperately for a toilet when he
eyed a gigantic statue of Lenin pointing. Beneath hung a great, red
banner with the text: "You're on the right road, comrades!" And sure
enough...!
Lenin had come to life and taken on a nekul'túrny
pose without asking anyone's permission. Dethroning a symbol of unity
is therefore a touchy affair:
Zhénya
told about a massive statue of Stalin near his home. After Khrushchev's
denouncements it had to be removed. But it was too heavy, so the
workers dug a grave and toppled it into it. Zhénya wondered
what future archaeologists would make of this.
The uncanny, even sinister humor of such
stories is a natural result of the poverty of the absolutist's repertoire.
There can be only One Lenin, One Stalin. They figure exclusively
in certain poses, which are well-known throughout the country. The
slightest divergence is immediately obvious, but impossible to avoid, since
they are surrounded by the chaos of Limbo. Lenin and Stalin must
"do or die". They are either true or false – as the absolutist affirms.
If (or rather, when) the illusion breaks down, the symbols come to life,
choose their own truth and falsehood – subverting the tenuous order they
supposedly represent. The only alternative to a Stalin in power is
a buried Stalin. The animist promptly buries him – literally. |