Powieści Witkacego wobec schematów powieści popularnej

Abstract

The objective of the research presented in the work was to present the presence and ways of functioning schemes typical for popular novels in novels of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. Together with the works of the author of NIENASYCENIE, I compare the works representing the Polish popular novel of the years 1900-1935. I assume that there are some premises to discuss parodistical actions made by Witkacy and I am going to present such actions on the selected examples of Witkacy's prose and texts from the mentioned period. The author of SZEWCY in his literary output took the expansion of popular literature into consideration and tried to use it, for example by building educational situation consisting in using the schemes of popular literature to transmit his own assumptions of the outlook on life. In the modern way of expressing the literature by Witkacy there is the care of a receiver who must be educated and strong unmasking of popular literature and uncovering its basic tricks by its untypical use. In order to attain it the writer uses parody most often. In my work I appeal to popular literature of the years 1900-1935 represented by about 100 titles of books. In my work I put a thesis that the presentation of characters, their action and space description where the action takes place, allows a reader to expect realization of schemes or motives characteristic to secondary literature in Witkacy's novels. Such reception was supposed to give pleasure (fill time) to inexperienced readers by offering them familiar and recognizable things on the one hand, on the other hand considering the way of introduction and type of contexts, for example reflections of philosophy, high literature, classical music, it let more subtle readers contact with what seems also to them to be the element of the most valuable literary tradition. The work intends to present parodistic literary game played with popular literature in its many forms (Bergroman, catastrophic novel, social-moral novel, exotic novel) in four novels of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. In the introduction I mark and define chronological and thematic limits of comparative research which are present in the next parts. In the foliowing chapters I discuss the basic method of work which is a test interpretation and intertextual study of most often paradied literary schemes. The next chapter presents views of Witkacy on a receiver, his spare time, entertainment, critical situation, author and editorial market. The next parts have analytical character; on the example of the motive of a duel and a "yellow danger " myth, I study paradistic expression of schemes of fiction in Witkacy's novels. While analyzing male characters (on the example of an artist and leader), women, service, novel space (mountains, rawn, space of stations, railways, buildings' interiors), I find paradistic handling of these schemes by the author of Bungo. Critical accents in a parady are the most significant to my further consideration of Witkacy's novels. Linda Hutcheon in her book A THEORY OF PARODY. THE TEACHINGS OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY ART FORM showed interesting issue of possibilities of decoding acquired texts. Her definition presents parady as a repetition with difference, imitation with ironic distance where irony is realized in two different ways: by sneering or commemorating. Parody is then for her a kind of a bridge between past and presence, repetition and critical distance. In the following work I intend to show that parady in Witkacy's novels is presented in a critical function towards schemes which build a genre that is a popular novel. The use of various paradistic conventions by Witkacy has a clear polemical character. This polemics is directed to specific market of works, authors and consumers of literature. In this way the author of SZEWCY approaches to original, ancient meaning of a term that is to practice of transforming texts with local connotations written inside. Witkacy's novels are built with ready, sometimes used elements. Journey to the East, duels, love intrigues, suicides, lonely trips in the mountains, fascination with a strang woman, wandering of main characters in unfriendly, urban space and even murders belong to these recognizable elements. It proves the schematization of the level of fiction in all novels as well as of its secondary meaning. The review of plots shows that in all Witkacy's novels there are repetitions and series solutions not only in the presentation and behaviour of the character but also in episodes, situations and events construction. The writer builds the plot with repeatable and recognizable elements as "something that has already been written" . The motive of "yellow danger " which organizes the plot of NIENASYCENIE in a significant and central way belongs to such schemes. The other one is a duel which has its popular sources and which is not such a significant motive for the whole plot as "yellow danger " but also illustrates literary character of Witkacy's works. The space and its descriptions in Witkacy's novels are reduced to a few repeated in various configurations of details presenting the mood or character of a place. Situations, engines, locomotives and interiors, objects which complete the characteristics of the characters' features very often presented in Witkacy's works do not perform an independent function. Space in Witkacy's works has a conventional character which is a replica of schemes present in popular literature what introduces many limits. In the novels there are only those elements which have a representational, attractive to a reader character. Interiors as well as objects are present in all novels in the same function - as a completion of characteristics of the characters' features. Attractiveness of described details is connected with identical function which they have in popular literature which are a complement of character's characteristics and their task is to interest and encourage a reader to reading. There are a few repeated types of characters with a elear division into playing a leading and secondary part characters. The first category is formed by young people (older in the next novels) with philosophical interests and artistic ambitions. The chapter KOBIETA brings presentation and pays attention to parodistic expression of female pictures in relation to popular literature. Problems connected with male creations is a more complicated issue (chapter MĘŻCZYZNA). In order to avoid excessive details I have tried not to present the collective characteristic of male characters but only two of its aspects: attitude of characters to women and hedonic attitude and issues of the influence of reading and literary conventions on actions of a character. I will separately discuss the type of a male character that is "a leader ". Differences between the picture of "a leader " strengthened in popular literature (Piłsudski for example) and its realization in Witkacy's novels are the symptom of a play with receivers' habits. Analysis of characters of secondary importance was made on the example of the appearance and behaviour of servants in all four novels. In all novels there can be noticed a steering of readers by the use of scheme which evokes some expectations and then destroys and parodies this scheme. Schematic pictures of women are compared with their behavior straying from the traditional one, and opinions stated by them and needs do not fit paradigms of popular novel. A confused receiver who felt confident before in the literary scheme was made to an effort which requires much more activity and attention than reading romances. Witkacy wants to force a reader to acquire specific knowledge by suggesting him his need of entertainment. That is why the author of SZEWCY was one of the first writers in literature, who not only diagnosed the situation of evident expansion of popular literature but also could use it in his literary output for educational purposes. He made it in a way attractive to inexperienced literarily readers but he did not resign from his artistic ambitions. Witkacy constructs educational situation consisting in forcing a reader to an effort by representing schemes known to him. He provokes with things which seem familiar and easy to a receiver - while the writer wants to move the recipient. Parody used by Witkacy helps to shock a reader, show him the truth about the myths of mass culture. In my work I have tried to present forms and character of relation of Witkacy's novel with popular literature. Struggle of the author of NIENASYCENIE with secondary prose includes not only its critics but also searching the place for it in his own output and in culture in general. They are a try to understand a phenomenon which was forming under artists' eyes and which took readers away from them. The choice of novels as a means of literary expression by Witkacy has a pragmatic character - the novel guaranteed the biggest number of readers. The analysis of works confirms the main thesis: use of schemes characteristic to popular literature, parodying them and playing with literary habits of a receiver and placing him in a situation of surprise is always used by Witkacy to transmit his own assumptions of the outlook on life.