“She opened her imaginary eyes into blue nothingness.ˮ Women as Existing Nothingness in Bolesław Leśmian’s Poetry Cover Image

„Urojone oczy w modre nic rozwarła”. O kreacjach kobiet jako nicości istniejącej w poezji Bolesława Leśmiana
“She opened her imaginary eyes into blue nothingness.ˮ Women as Existing Nothingness in Bolesław Leśmian’s Poetry

Author(s): Lidia Kamińska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Poetry, Social Philosophy, Polish Literature, Ontology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Bolesław Leśmian; woman; nothingness; non-existence; misogyny;

Summary/Abstract: The category of nothingness often appears in the poetry of Bolesław Leśmian. Literary representations of nothingness as a woman are an original feature of Leśmian’s poetic imagination. This article offers an ontological analysis of women who can be described as “existing nothingness.ˮ These presentations are not homogenous and some notable differences can be observed: in the opposite directions of the will, the intensity of nothingness, or in the perspective from which these characters are shown. Womannothingness can be associated with a lyrical situation or be an element of description. In Leśmian’s poetry there are also male characters who become nothingness after coming in contact with women. Presentations of women as “existing nothingnessˮ and their destructive impact on men is connected with the misogynist attitude.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 42
  • Page Range: 41-55
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish