The Wise Jester, the Madhouse, and Geopolitics. Dzienniki by Stefan Kisielewski as a Counter-Hegemonic Narrative Cover Image

Mądry błazen, szpital wariatów i geopolityka. Dzienniki Stefana Kisielewskiego jako narracja kontrhegemoniczna
The Wise Jester, the Madhouse, and Geopolitics. Dzienniki by Stefan Kisielewski as a Counter-Hegemonic Narrative

Author(s): Michał Kopczyk
Subject(s): Polish Literature, Theory of Literature, Geopolitics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Stefan Kisielewski; counter-hegemonic narrative; diary; jester;

Summary/Abstract: This article proposes a reading of Dzienniki [Diaries] by Stefan Kisielewski (1911–1991) as a counter-hegemonic narrative. The author of this article explores the question of the strategy that Kisielewski adopts (consciously or not) in response to the conditions in which he finds himself as a writer and publicist – that is, the textual strategy (devised for the purposes of a specific work, his diary) and the life strategy. The principal element in the strategy employed by the writer is his embrace of the role of a jester – a commentator of reality, who finds pleasure in the rhetorical advantage granted by categories such as: joke, ridicule, irony, and self-mockery. This attitude allows one to attain a distance to both the world and other people, which guarantees safety and also helps sidestep most of the dangers associated with placing too much confidence in reason. The jester mask precludes dogmatism, prevents devoting oneself completely to the pragmatism of fighting an enemy, and allows maintaining individual autonomy in an oppressive world.

  • Issue Year: 16/2019
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 232-248
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish