The antiheroic models: an antihero in the context of the Polish prose written after 1989 Cover Image

Oblicza antybohatera: antyheros w kontekście polskiej prozy pisanej po 1989 roku
The antiheroic models: an antihero in the context of the Polish prose written after 1989

Author(s): Anna Figa
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Instytut Polsko-Rosyjski
Keywords: Polish newest prose; literary character; antihero; clown figure

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the issue of picturing the antiheroic type of a literary character who could be called hero à rebours. Hero à rebours in the newest Polish prose is quite a frequent type of a literary character. He is not a simple opposition of a hero. He represents an absent, negative model of heroism. He suffers from the lack of heroic features or, just on the opposite, pretends to be a hero of the new age and even gains some heroic features (courage, strong will, bravery, physical strength) but uses them in the wrong way, “contrariwise”. What is also significant, this type of literature and this type of an antihero is connected to non-literary caesura: political, social and economic changes after the fall of communism in 1989. Hero à rebours has great origins in the history of literature. Very important for this type of an antihero is a clown figure.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 2 (7)
  • Page Range: 173-189
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish