The Conflict Between Materiality and Spirituality in Fiction: An Intertextual-Theoretical Approach

Abstract

This article examines the conflict between materiality and spirituality — one of the perennial themes of world fiction — through the lens of intertextuality theory. Drawing on the concepts developed by Julia Kristeva, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Gérard Genette, the study traces how this theme has been reproduced, transformed, and reinterpreted across texts belonging to different historical and cultural periods. The analysis, conducted on the material of classic works of world literature, systematizes the intertextual connections underlying the artistic treatment of this conflict and identifies the poetic functions these connections perform.