“A BOOK ABOUT THE BULGARIAN PEOPLE“ FROM STOYAN MIHAYLOVSKI: “FEARS“ OF THE LITERARY IN 1897

Abstract

In this article we talk about Stoyan Mihaylovski, who in the year 1897 presented the public “Book about the Bulgarian people“, which we could name “literature for the passions in power“. The author expresses a stark warning about a policy of a non-human monstrous shape. The lack of freedom can be interpreted as the main motive in the work. More provocative is the choice to comment the “Balkan question“, since the dreadful enslaver of yesteryear becomes a main character in a sort of “parable“ of power. Naturally, we must also highlight the influence of the “Eastern“ theme, consistently developed by the writer for years, long before he wrote the book about the “Bulgarian people“ (Bulgarian policy); and the mystification of foreign space as one’s own for satiric effect.