Význam zabudnutého nemeckého románu Bendeguz pri určení charakteristických prvkov tvorby Jána Chalupku
The significance of the forgotten German novel Bendeguz in defining the characteristic features of Ján Chalupka’s work

Summary/Abstract: The national literary canons that took shape in the 19th century were built on the exclusivity of the national language. The absence of a full translation of a text originally written in a non-national language could lead to its complete disappearance from public consciousness. This study examines the significance of the German novel Bendeguz (1841) in shaping the perception of the literary work of Slovak writer Ján Chalupka (1791 – 1871). The first attempt to incorporate this novel into the monolingual space of national literature was the publication of a Slovak translation of several chapters in the humoristic magazine Černokňažník [The sorcerer] in 1862 and 1863. The novel was rediscovered only in the early 1950s, thanks to two editions of a Slovak translation by Ján Vladimír Ormis (1953; expanded version 1959). While the new translation drew attention to the novel, its interpretation largely overlooked elements that did not align with the established image of Chalupka as an Enlightenment rationalist. The need to broaden the interpretative context is further emphasized by the novel’s paratexts, particularly its Hungarian-language mottos and the subtitle, “donquijotiáda podľa najnovšej módy” – “A Don Quixote story in the latest fashion.”

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