Nástin poetiky prostoru ulic v prózách Miloše Urbana
“Street” in Miloš Urban’s Prose – Outline of the Poetics of Space

Summary/Abstract: The street is one of the dominant city spaces in Miloš Urban’s novels Sedmikostelí and Lord Mord, and features in a minor way in his other fiction, notably his book of short stories Mrtvý holky. All these named works are connected not only with the city of Prague but also with the motif of revolt, through which Urban adopts a critical position regarding contemporary society. In Sedmikostelí the streets are characterized as a labyrinth in which the hero undergoes a journey of initiation leading to a revolt against the present chaotic society in order to restore the medieval order of the world. In the collection of short stories Mrtvý holky the motif of revolt is presented by characterizing the streets as commercialized space where the mutual anonymity, even apathy of people is growing. The most apparent connection between the motif of revolt and the topos of the street occurs in his novel Lord Mord; here the street becomes a place where two different opinions of the redevelopment of Prague are confronted. Urban’s criticism of present society culminates in this novel, in which real-life political figures are openly accused of using dubious practices. In contemporary Czech fiction Urban defines himself as an author with a critical attitude to the development of Czech society since November 1989.

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