Marazm męskości. Wokół opowiadania Olgi Tokarczuk “Przetwory”
The Stagnation of Masculinity. Around Olga Tokarczuk’s Short Story “Przetwory”

Summary/Abstract: Olga Tokarczuk’s short story “Przetwory” from the collection Opowiadania bizarne (2018) offers an example of literary exploration of masculinity which – due to the absence of an appropriate model and insufficient self-reflection – fails to realise its developmental potencial. The hermeneutical reading of the work proposed in the article uncovers the son’s persistent bond with his mother, which the writer deliberately conceals beneath a grotesque plot. What initially may seem a humorous story about a man whose mother punished him from beyond the grave for refusing to become independent reveals, through a micrological reading, the potential of Greek tragedy. The voices of the scholars of masculinity invoked in this article resonate with Tokarczuk’s short story, thus providing an adequate literary commentary on contemporary masculinities.

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