Representations and Consequences of Moral Evil in Cenușă rece by Mihaela Perciun

Abstract

This article offers a literary analysis of the existential dilemmas and psychological traumas of the characters in Mihaela Perciun’s novel, Cenușă rece. The sources and the chain of causality that marked the destinies of the characters from the perspective of moral evil are particularly highlighted. We have shown that moral deviations and the constraint of freedom of conscience are what can create both social dissensions and identity fractures over time. By using black humor, the author illustrates an upside-down world, wicked and with values followed only on a declarative level, thus managing to offer us a full picture of this society. It also analyzes the drama of three generations of women and how the male character, Tudor Cocargea, marked their existence by one moral slip he committed. Thus, we found that the characters, although they are blood relatives, are devoid of affection and totally unknown to each other