Dreamlike adventures and time traveling to the past in "The Eternity of the Rose" (2016)

Abstract

In the youth novel The Eternity of the Rose (2016), oneiric journeys to the past are the key for resolving the general conflict of the narration, which is a spirit that is looking for the help of the protagonist and causes him nightmares. The essay presents the representation of this significant combination of the motives of dream and traveling, its narrative context, its fundamental role and its development in the plot. Furthermore the general tenor of spiritualism is taken into consideration, as characteristic of a possible new literary tendency. Thus a new social project for the modern societies is promoted in a mixture of fiction and references to the extra-fictional reality. Also the  mechanisms that are used to address a young public and to give access to philosophical ideas without big, complex and difficult monologues will be shown.

Keywords: dream, journey, youth literature, spiritualism, modern society