Page - 46 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 4/2018

46 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 4 2o18 Tuulikki Kurki | Border Crossing Trauma of the war is revealed. When the “war blindness” (Caruth 2008, 153) caused by the ideology disappears, Riikka and the soldiers understand their overwhelming situation. At first they thought that they were doing the right thing and their actions were justified, but when surrounded by death and mutilated bodies, they come to understand that they were wrong. The soldiers see themselves only as killers, and not as the defenders of some noble ideology: their task is only to kill others and try to survive. “This was the war, you could not follow any rules, and the war could not have any logic. Riikka felt that the feeling of emptiness that now filled her, killed her hopes of curing her internal pain. From now on, there was just new pain that would not erase the old one; the pain just piled up. [...] The war expedition did not have any goal anymore; the purpose was just to kill others and survive.” (Perttu 2014, 60.) When the insanity and meaninglessness of the war is revealed to the soldiers, they feel be- trayed. The trauma and betrayal (Caruth 2008; Freyd 1998) manifests itself in feelings of emp- tiness, cumulating physical pain, and mental agony. Along with the other soldiers, Riikka tries to numb the agony with self-inflected sadomasochistic pain, including whipping, tying with ropes, drugs, and sex. “Riikka remembered the nights with Raivola [another soldier] flavoured with cocaine, bizarre love scenes that did not result in anything, but still she missed them. [...]. Or was it cocaine that she was missing? Raivola always had cocaine, and Riikka was ready to do anything for a fix.” (Perttu 2014, 103.) “Why was she here? There was no rational explanation. She had made up all of this just to fill the empty feeling in her soul. Only because of her pain was she here, she was not taking revenge, but numbing her own pain.” (Perttu 2014, 105.) “Was this just a game or some kind of an experiment? Riikka thought when the whip moved from Raivola’s hand into hers. Changing the roles was not difficult, after she had already had her satisfaction. [...] Did she wish to have a punishment for her sins, or was this just an experiment to explore her own dark side in a safe environment? [...] It had been real pain, liberating pain, and now she was able to imagine herself as the absolute ruler of pain [...]. (Perttu 2014, 239.) In the midst of war and violence, Riikka experiences a move from the real world into a surreal world. This takes place when she experiences a move into Kazimir Malevich’s painting Black Square (Chernyi kvadrat, 1915). Black Square represents an abstract art movement Suprema- tism initiated by Malevich in Russia. It focussed on pure geometric forms such as square and circle that were thought to be universally comprehensible forms (Drutt 2003). The painting Black Square has been interpreted as signifying eternity, emptiness and depth (Esanu 2013, 84–85), and in the novel, starts to symbolize Riikka’s experiences in the war and her existence in the world (Perttu 2014, 12). In her experiences, the war had changed the world entirely and profoundly, and therefore, the world could no longer be depicted through traditional art forms. Only abstract art could provide instruments for depicting this new, changed world. The