„Rozpęd do nieskończoności” a „metafizyczne nienasycenie” – teoria psychiki według Tadeusza Micińskiego w recepcji Stanisława Ignacego Witkiewicza

Abstract

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz considered Tadeusz Miciński to be one of the most important Polish authors. Miciński’s literary output was also one of the key inspirations for the author of Szewcy, which was repeatedly emphasized in the previous research. The affinities between body of work of both authors were noted in the field of poetics as well as in the thematics, but convergent reflections on the psychology appearing in their works haven’t been described before. This kind of analysis focuses on works of prose, specifically the so-called “bags-novels” [powieści-worki], which apart from the main storyline contain also intellectual arguments. According to Witkacy, metaphysical insatiability is man’s basic desire. He describes it as a thirst caused by the separation of human’s personality from the world and people’s amazement at the mystery of existence. Metaphysical insatiability can only be satisfied by infinity. It results in the fact that man constantly strives to transgress himself, trying to find new ways to quench his thirst. Witkacy explains the meaning of this concept in Niemyte dusze by referring to the concept of the inferiority complex coined by Alfred Adler, but his considerations differ from the thoughts of the Austrian psychiatrist. That is why the term “complex of insatiability” was proposed in the study. Witkacy also quotes Miciński’s phrase “impetus to infinity” [rozpęd do nieskończoności], which probably refers to the original phrase “infinite impetus of love” [nieskończony rozpęd miłości] or “love for infinity” [umiłowanie nieskończoności]. Relation between of Miciński’s and Witkacy’s reflections on the psychology seems to be undeniable also due to the similarities in the method of describing the beforementioned “complex of insatiability”. This attribute provokes the artistic, philosophical and religious quests of the protagonists in their novels, and is often the reason for descending into madness. Miciński and Witkacy interpret the origins of this phenomenon in various ways, but they agree that it is a constitutive feature of humanity.