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SLOVENSKÁ LITERATÚRA



Volume XLIX, 2002 / No 5

Editorial

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Review 420


On the front of work and belief. Constructive novel in Czech literature of 50th

Pavel Janáček, Ústav pro českou literaturu AV ČR, Praha, Česká republika

The object of the study is a main genre of the literature of socialist realism in the 50th of the 20th century. It is called a constructive novel. That means a type of a social novel reflecting present time, having strong, utopian features, illustrating or making an allegory of the communist doctrines, expressing rituals of accepting of it and experiencing it. It is focused on education and trying to convince a wide public.

The constructive novel takes the material from the environment of work. It offers stories legitimising the communist ideology (the story of transformation of so called old, capitalistic order into the new one – socialist having the nature of law). A collective of workers in industry and agriculture, techniques, functionaries from a certain factory construction or village are always the subject of a story, and it typically makes connection of three lines – of a working one, erotic and criminal.

There are three states of development of the constructive novel distinguishing in the study 50th: The first one is from 1949-1950, it was a little variant of the genre getting to birth on the foundation of Pre-February 1948 criminal, sentimental and affirmative popular readings (e. g. E Kirchberger: Šlo o elektrárnu – The point was a power station, 1949). In the second period (1950-1953) ”big, full-value” and culturally prestigious variant of a constructive novel was getting its way, a new genre paradigm was formed (V. Řezáč: Taking-up, 1951). The most remarkable realisation of the genre in Czech culture is a novel Plným krokem (By full step, 1952) written by Otčenášek. After 1953, in the third period, the genre absorbed changes of domains in the politico-ideological sphere. They resulted in transformation in the theme of an enemy from the ”new” world who was replaced by an inner enemy, deceiver of the collective, false functionary, party dictator (K. F. Sedláček: Závod ve stínu – Race in the shadow, 1954-1960).


From Morák to Krůta and Kočka na kolejích. Czech drama from the end of 50th and the beginning of 60th

Pavel Janoušek, Ústav pro českou literaturu AV ČR, Praha, Česká republika

The study is a chapter from the Dejiny české literatury 1945 – 1990 (The history of Czech literature) The main editor of the book is an author of the study. The study is focused on Czech dramatic art from the end of 50th and the beginning of 60th. It deals especially with that part inspired by literary adviser’s and producer’s conception of work of Karel Kraus and Otomar Krejči. It follows effort of the authors to reflect an actual state of the socialist society as it was seem to them in the mirror of first doubts and misgivings. They used drama of Čechov´s type and their plays were in opposition to dramatic art of previous constructive epoch. The study begins with reminder an initiative role of František Hrubín and Vratislav Blažek for temporal dramatic art. The first one was known for his poetics of poetic play Srpnova neděle (The August Sunday) and latter for his satiric pointedness of moral problems. The author of the study follows development of Hrubín-Čechov model in the play of Josef Topol´s Jejich den (Their Day) and dramatic attempts and mistakes of followers of Hrubín (Daněk, Jariš, Pavlíček). He is interested in effort of dramatists who wanted to overcome in the means of dramatic art relativisation and crisis of values which were parts of everyday life in socialism. They pointed out to basic axioms of communist belief, to heroic past and happy future they are necessary to be fought for. In the end the author of the study pays attention to several plays they represented a new kind of message – instead of Čechov expression they brought a model expression: Milan Kundera – Majitele klíčů (The owners of keys), Josef Topol – Konec masopustu (The end of carnival) and Kočka na kolejích (A cat on the rails).


How to get in to the territory of Silvia – domains of fictions in the short story of Cortazár

Alice Jedličková, Ústav pro českou literaturu AV ČR, Praha, Česká republika

The study is a result of the meeting of three reading ways or codes amazed experience of a reader of  short story with a love theme, analytical reading focused on methods of narrative building of prose and an attempt of interpretation to apply theory of possible worlds in the conception of L.Doležal, U. Eko and M.L. Ryan. The way out is based on confrontation of our everyday experience with ”difference” and ”parallelism” of the fellow-travels´ worlds of lives with principals of the theory of possible worlds (delimitation of actually ”real” in opposition to others, measure of mutual accessibility of worlds etc.) Interpretation of the short story of Julio Cortázar Silvio shows how the creative way possibly generalised by a concept of Ibero-American magic realism or described more in details as making of structure of a world of fiction changing it into ”fictional domains” differentiating of domains of values determining their operation (world of adults, world of children) transforms a traditional topic of nostalgic reflection of loving flush in asking questions about character of reality we live in or we think we live in.