Maska starości. Postać babki Róży w Łakomych Małgorzaty Lebdy
Mask of Old Age. Mask of Old Age. The figure of grandmother Róża in Małgorzata Lebda’s Łakome

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the character of Grandmother Róża in Łakome by Małgorzata Lebda, focusing on the concept of the „mask of old age” and presenting the eschatological dimension of the novel’s narrative. The foundation of the discussion is the relationship between the narrator and her grandmother. Róża’s illness and old age transform the narrator’s home into a liminal space and situation. The text adopts the perspective of an autobiographical somatext and demonstrates how corporeal being-toward-death prompts reflection on immaterial memory, identity, and ultimately the relationship between life and death, which connects these two perspectives. The analysis refers to the concepts of vegetativity (Michael Marder), vulnerability (Judith Butler), and, most importantly, the metaphor of the mask of old age (Mike Featherstone, Mike Hepworth). Grandmother Róża emerges as a figure on the boundary between the sacred and the profane—both as a fragile body and as a mythical figure, a ritual being.

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