Illusion of love as a form of escapism (the motif of absurdity in Lyudmila Petrushevskaya’s short story “Waterloo Bridge”)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the motif of absurdity and escapism in L. Petrushevskaya’s well-known short story “Waterloo Bridge” (1995). The study aims to identify the specifics of the author’s position and interpretation of key images associated with the heroine’s illusory escape from reality. The author of the paper focuses primarily on the postmodern poetics of the text and emphasizes the ironic reduction of traditional humanistic interpretations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, the role of the narrator is revealed as a key element forming absurdity and irony in the short story, and the connection between the illusion of love and the heroine’s escapism is also singled out. As a result of the study, it is proven that Petrushevskaya not only rejects the possibility of the heroine’s salvation through an illusory world but also systematically deconstructs the very idea of ​​escapism. The author’s position, devoid of traditional humanism, is manifested in the fact that absurdity becomes a universal law that permeates both everyday life and the heroine’s fantasies. Her attempt to escape to a cinematic “paradise” turns into a parody. Petrushevskaya, using the ironic distance of the narrator and sarcastic remarks, creates a world where even the tragic is presented through the prism of ridicule. Thus, the text becomes a manifesto of postmodern detachment: the author not only refuses to sympathize but also emphasizes absurdity as the only form of existence, rejecting the very possibility of “salvation” in the traditional sense.