Proza Bolesława Prusa: dyskurs wielokulturowy. Uwagi na marginesie

Abstract

The present article deals with the following aspects: the convention of the 19th century and modernist strategy in Bolesław Prus’ works, the changing nature of poetry, cultural reality in the literary heritage of the author of Faraon, overt and covert discourse, the communicative direction of prose, its philosophical and aesthetic aspects, discourse of Kroniki by Prus, small epic forms, as well as specific narration and comparative contexts. Lalka (Cz. Miłosz) is regarded as a masterpiece of European culture and the most important Polish novel of the 19th century. The article explores the semantics and structure of the novel within the category of ‘horizon of expectation’ according to the concept of Hans Robert Jauss and Harald Weinricht. Other aspects include the modern character of Lalka, its intertextuality and relations to West European literature (Defoe, Cervantes, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola), the discourse of Russian culture, polyphony of Lalka and poetry of F. Dostoyevsky, as well as relations to the novel Crime and Punishment. The article also considers reflection of the dialogue with Dostoyevsky in other works of Prus (Dzieci), as well as the view of the writer’s prose in postmodern light.