Semiosis of textual categories of time and space in short fiction by Breece D’J Pancake

The article explores the semiosis of textual categories of time and space in short fiction by Breece D’J Pancake. The methodology of the research is based on the works by M. Bakhtin, Yu. Lotman, G. Genett, P. Ricoeur and U. Eco. It has been proved that the stories by Pancake replicate several Biblical plots: the creation of the world and the origional sin (“Trilobites”), a prodigal son (“Time and Again”), the whore of Babylon / Mary Magdalene (“A Room Forever”) and the apocalyptical mark of the beast (“The Mark”). The time is static and is marked by seasonality. The space is segregated into macro-outer world and the inner space of the towns, engulfing people’s destinies and predetermining their down-to-earth existence. The semantic system is represented by the cross-cultural concepts: the light as a sign of hope; a room as an embodiment of a shelter; the hollowness of the night, growing into the hollowness of life; a rabbit embryo, symbolizing the mark of the beast; a snake, serving as a symbol of seduction; a train or a bus as the means of escapism. Three rounds of coffee in “Trilobite” replicate three circles of Hell in “The Divine Comedy” by Dante