Łakome Małgorzaty Lebdy jako przykład tekstu maladycznego

Abstract

This article proposes an interpretation of Małgorzata Lebda’s debut novel, Łakome [The greedy], which is a record of the protagonist’s experience of her grandmother’s cancer. The work is a form of cancerography, in which the author combines autobiographical elements with literary fiction, portraying the intimate experiences of the characters and their struggle with the disease. As Susan Sontag noted, each of us belongs to both worlds, the world of the healthy and the sick. Over the centuries, ways of dealing with illnesses have changed, from magic and herbalism to the modern holistic approach to health, which embraces the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of a person. One way of dealing with an illness is through writing, such as a diary. Disease narratives, also known as pathographies, play a therapeutic role, helping authors and readers to process the emotions associated with the illness. By fitting into the maladic discourse, Lebda demonstrates that illness affects the entire surroundings of the patient, and that everyone, human and animal alike, is equal in the presence of death.