The crisis of personal identity in Elena Isaeva’s plays about love

Abstract

The article studies the crisis of personal identity in Elena Isaeva’s plays “I’m Afraid of Love” (2008) and “The Prison Psychologist” (2017). The theme of both plays is “eternal love”. However, the “Russian man at a rendezvous” in the 21st century differs from its predecessor not simply by weakness and inadequacy, but by demonstrating a complete lack of humanity qualities. The plays also differ greatly in their imagery focus. The first drama focuses on the conflict that arises between characters appearing successively on stage consequently. As a result, the issue of shared “fear” draws increasing attention, reaching the level of collective love trauma. In the second play, the author focuses on the love drama that arises between people of the same profession, psychologists, who not only fail to help themselves but also turn their relationship into endless torture, ultimately leading to dire consequences when executioner and victim find themselves “chained together”. Both plays reflect the author’s concern about the increasing destructive changes in society.