The Semantics of the Title of Nodar Dumbadze’s Novel “Do Not Be Afraid, Mother”

Abstract

Nodar Dumbadze’s novel Do Not Be Afraid, Mother is commonly situated within anti-Soviet discourse for its explicit anti-Soviet rhetoric and its resistance to cultural isolation. The work responds to the sociocultural conditions of its time and articulates the author’s subjective position toward processes unfol­ding in the Soviet space during the 1960s. This study investigates the novel’s artistic dimension and the expressive strategies the author employs to convey his central message. In particular, it analyzes the title as a manifestation of artistic convention, its role in realizing the author’s creative intention, and its function in shaping the ideological content and figurative structure of the text. The aesthetic function of the title is assessed in relation to the work as a whole.

Decoding the title is a crucial component of this research because it illuminates the author’s method of textual construction and helps determine the originality of his literary style. The analysis focuses on symbols and key lexical units and their meanings, including the number thirteen; the notion of a “new god”; satanic marks and signs; the cross as a solar symbol; the rooster as a zoomorphic transformation of heavenly fire—the sun—and as a symbol of dawn and spiritual renewal; and the “Paris Commune” as a prominent emblem of state propaganda. Biblical parables and expressions associated with the text are also examined.

The analysis leads to the conclusion that, owing to its strong positional status, the title functions as the organizing center of the artistic text and serves as its compositional dominant.

A close reading shows how the title acquires conceptual significance. At the novel’s end, the words Do Not Be Afraid, Mother are addressed not only by the protagonist to the maternal image but also by the author to the reader, offering consolation and affirming that the era of darkness has ended and the age of light, the sun, and the Lord has begun. The phrase suggests the emergence of a worthy generation and the advent of a new dawn. In our view, this constitutes the principal message encoded in the title.