Argentinian masculinities and Trans-Atlantyk written
by Witold Gombrowicz Cover Image

Męskości argentyńskie a Trans-Atlantyk Witolda Gombrowicza
Argentinian masculinities and Trans-Atlantyk written by Witold Gombrowicz

Author(s): Tomasz Kaliściak
Subject(s): Polish Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: Argentine masculinities; hybridization; plebeian culture; masculine camp; sarmatic camp

Summary/Abstract: The article takes up an issue of structuring two different models of masculinity that are presented on the pages of Gombrowicz’s novel. Confrontation of anachronistic, Polish, Sarmatian masculinity and modern otherness of South American masculinity results in revision of Polish national forms. It enables unsealing the limits of the notion ’masculinity’ which is closed in Eurocentric definitions. Cultural diversity of Argentinian and Polish men might be expressed by postcolonial theories. The author analyses Gombrowicz’s texts and uses terms, such as hybrid masculinity (Eduardo Archetti) or plebeian masculinities (Pablo Ben).The idea of homeland is strongly connected with hegemoniczna masculinity and national ideology. It is faced with the concept of Synczyzna (Sonland) that is based on a model of demotic and hybrid masculinity and becomes the subject of normativizing and nationalizing discourse. Polish Sarmatian masculinity presented in comparison to Argentinian culture seems to be the excess and it allows the author to draw a conlusion about masculine camp, or even sarmatic one.

  • Issue Year: 6/2016
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 59-76
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish