Włodzimierz Bolecki
"Ja, Ferdydurke. Gombrowicza świat
interakcji", Zdzisław Łapiński, Lublin
1985 : [recenzja]
Literary Studies in Poland 17, 137-140
1987
C o m p te s rendu s de livres 137
ance o f a b ulky volum e, b u t once you have started read in g it you are bound to get en tranced in th a t subtle dance o f ideas in which following G om b row icz him self and his works, all a u th o rs are engaged.
W ło d zim ie rz B o lec k i
T ransl. by Z y g m u n t N ierada
Zdzisław Ł ap iński, Ja, Ferdydurke. Gombrowicza świat interakcji
(M e, Ferdydurke. Gombrowicz’s World o f Interaction), K atolicki U ni
w ersytet Lubelski, Lublin 1985, 108 pp.
It is nearly 20 years ago th a t Zdzisław Ł ap ińsk i published his article called “ W edding in a H u m an C hurch. O n In teracting C a tegories in G o m b ro w icz’s W orks” (Twórczość, 1966, no. 9), which m arked a tu rn in g -p o in t in studies o f G om brow icz. Ł apiń ski established an entirely new perspective o f ap p ro ach in g G om b ro w icz’s works, invoking up-to -d ate categories from psychology and social com m unica tion theory. Ł ap iń sk i’s article was for m any years to com e one of the stan d ard studies to quo te from by stu d en ts o f G om b ro w icz’s work.
T he book Ł apińsk i has now published consistently unfolds the ideas contained in th a t old study.
In the openin g ch a p te r called “In tro d u c tio n to M eth o d : Lawyer K ray k o w sk i’s D a n c e r,” Ł apiński briefly outlines the early period o f G o m b ro w icz’s w ork, to proceed to analyzing the sh o rt story called “ Law yer K ra y k o w sk i’s D a n cer,” which fo r the sake o f in terp retatio n , Ł apiński presents as “a kind o f re p o rt, an account on a definite segm ent o f real social life” (p. 11). Ł apińsk i uses E. G o ffm an ’s analytical categories (from Relations in Public, 1971) to reco n stru ct th a t segm ent o f reality. Ł apiński says G om b ro w icz’s sh o rt story takes place “ in th at segm ent o f reality which, follow ing E rving G oifm an, we can call ‘social o rd e r’” (p. 15). T he title “d an c er” is presented by Ł apiński as a witness to events which p u t him into relationships with m any ch aracters from the social order. It tu rn s o u t th a t the ch ief figure o f the story, the “d a n c e r”, abuses “com m only app ro v ed ways o f co m m u n icatio n ” (p. 16). As the hero o f the story acting am idst o th er ch aracters, the “d an c er”
em ploys nonverbal m eans o f expression. As a story-teller, th ou gh , he is extrem ely eloquent. Still, in either o f these two roles he behaves im properly, fo r he challenges established form s o f social com m unication. Ł apiński goes on to say th a t G o m b ro w icz’s short story revives the gro u n d rule o f heroic com ism , for the m ain ch aracter is talking o f trivial m atters as th ou gh they were of p a ra m o u n t im po rtance while behaving in a m an n er which suggests th at insignificant things are first-rate m atters. O bviously, G om brow icz is resortin g to well-know n literary stereotypes, “n o t to ridicule them , but only because they h ad been ridiculed enough b efore” (p. 19). The p o in t is, he uses those stereotypes to express w hat are really serious m atters. H ow ever, as he uses w orn-out literary m odels to present riddles o f the h u m an soul, G om brow icz actually criticizes all co nventions o f his co n tem p o rary literature. The sho rt stories in the volum e called Diary o f Pubescence are all cases o f p arod ied literary techniques. But, as Ł apiński p oints out, the “D a n c e r” rem ains the m ost interesting story o f all, from the stan d p o in t o f his later w ritings, for in th a t story G om brow icz illustrated the phen om eno n o f social in terp retatio n (of different people on each other). Social interaction will becom e the m ain topic o f his subsequent works.
In ch a p te r two (“ A ction and In teractio n ”) Ł apiński points o ut th a t things G om brow icz's ch aracters regard as im p ortan t always em erge in interpersonal relations. A n in divid ual’s consciousness organizes itself in relationship with the consciousness o f an o th er individual. Ł ap iński therefore analyzes the form s o f com m un ication G om b ro w icz’s characters use in co ntacts with one an other, nam ely words, gestures, m im icry, touch. T his kind o f co m m unication is a com bined outcom e o f biological im pulses (com ing from the body) and social conventions (as well as institutions) —school, family, ch urch, office, political o rganizatio n, ideology etc. As is know n, the o rd e r o f social custom is preserved when definite conventional behavior m odels are em ulated. B ut G o m b ro w icz’s hero “behaves in a fashion which implies th a t each individual act o f everyday life presents a p ro b lem ” (p. 35). G om b row icz’s heroes feel that social institutions are infected with internal decay, but they do not w ant to restore the previous social o rd e r (along with all its rituals, sym bols, m yths, pow er systems etc.). They are sim ply on the w atchout for interpersonal tensions am idst which absolute hum an values can
C o m p te s rendus de livres 139
be released (p. 40). In o th er w ords, G o m brow icz’s h ero is actually always groping for m eaning, be it in social life, in com m unication, in nature, o r in the universe.
T he third ch a p te r o f Ł a p iń sk i’s book (“ F ace to Face with R ead ers”) is devoted to explaining the a u th o r’s own presence in his w orks. G om brow icz is constantly trying to stir his re ad ers’ interest and often resorts to tricks typical o f p o p u lar literature. Says Ł apiński,
G o m b r o w ic z so u g h t to e sc h e w stere o ty p es to in d ulge in others, w hich he knew
w ere the m ost artificial o f all. T h ey w ere artificial as p ro d u cts, fa lsify in g the reality they were su p p o sed to d ep ict, but ab sorb ed p articu larly eagerly in the
d e p th s o f the h u m an soul —a lso by elitistic so u ls.
So, G om bro w icz d re am t o f a literature which w ould im merse itself in w hat he th o u g h t was the spirituality o f the m asses,
a literatu re which w o u ld stu p efy p e o p le w ith its o w n d ep ra v a tio n w h ile at the sam e tim e (but h o w ? ) e le v a tin g itse lf fro m its o w n fa ll b y c rea tin g h ith erto im p o n d era b le valu es. G o m b r o w ic z p ro b a b ly fo u n d h im s e lf fa cin g an u n m a n a g ea b le p ro b lem (p. 18).
T he novel The Possessed he w rote under a pseudonym is p erhaps the first exam ple o f th at. It was a pastiche o f p o p u lar detective stories. B ut in his subsequent w orks (as in the D iary o f Pubescen
ce), G om bro w icz switches over from pastiche to parody. A s paro dy
im plied a loosening o f the link to the real w orld (the link between w ords and the reality they describe), he h ad to find som ething w hich could restore lite ra tu re ’s connection with real life. H e found th a t in the idea o f self-com m entary, occasionally in au to biog rap hical rem arks. F rom the very beginning o f his career as w riter, G o m brow icz tried h ard to m ake readers feel the strength o f the bond betw een the a u th o r’s ow n self an d his w ork. T his is why in each o f his w orks G om brow icz indulges in com m enting o n his ow n self. This is w hat he does in Ferdydurke, Trans-Atlantic, Pornography, bu t above all in his D iary. N ext to this particu larity , G om brow icz has a n o th e r som ew hat sim ilar fondness, nam ely to co m m ent on the m eanings o f his own w o rk s—a net in which he entangles the unw itting reader. T his way, G om brow icz produces a new kind o f novel, one which can be called “aw areness o f o n e ’s self.” This is often a tragical aw areness which is expressed in scurrilous lan g u a
ge. Ł apińsk i calls it tragicom edy. “O ne w riter to read sim ultaneously with G om brow icz is Blaise P ascal,” says Ł apiński q u o tin g C zeslaw M ilosz.
T he concluding c h a p te r o f Ł ap iń sk i’s book is devoted to the
Diary (“ Final W ord on M eth o d : T he O th er M e, or th e D iary").
Ł apiński outlines the successive stages o f p ro du cin g th a t b o o k to proceed to a succinct d escription o f its genre. Ł apińsk i believes G om brow icz refutes the co n cep t o f diary as a “chronicle o f cu rren t events,” or as a “co n v ersation with oneself,” o r as a “collection o f th o u g h ts.” But alth o u g h he refutes or, m ore precisely, parod ies the n arrative convention o f diaries, G om brow icz avails h im self o f the o p p o rtu n ity to write his ow n spiritual au to b io g rap h y in the
Diary. Says Ł apiński,
T h is is n o t a portrait but a series o f m utu ally p a ro d y in g p o rtra its; it is n o t a b iograp h y but a series o f b rief b iograp h ical p resen ta tio n s w h ich often clash w ith o n e a n o th er (p. 88).
H owever, the true p ro tag o n ist o f the Diary is n o t W itold G om brow icz as a person b u t as “the au th o r o f the W itold G o m brow icz o f the Diary and th e au th o r o f m any other characters, events and situ a tio n s—an a u th o r o f a u th o rs” (p. 103).
Ł ap iń sk i’s boo k is u n doubted ly the best ever study o f G om brow icz. Its succinct and lucid style is rem iniscent o f G o m b ro w icz’s ow n, as it is in its consistency o f analysis and his logic o f argum ents. W ith C artesian clarity it illum inates the darkness o f G o m b ro w ic z’s universe.
W ło d zim ie rz B o le c k i
T ransl. by Z y g m u n t N iera d a
T e r e s a K o s t k i e w i e ż o w a , Horyzonty wyobraźni. O Języku poezji
oświecenia (Les Horizons de 1’imagination. Sur la langue de la poésie du Siècle des Lumières), Państw ow e W ydaw nictw o N aukow e, W ar
szawa 1984.
Le titre du présent ouvrage co m p o rte deux no tio ns fondam entales p o u r to u te réflexion sur la poésie, sa spécificité, ses tran sfo rm atio n s et son im portance. L ’im agination et la langue — ces p oin ts de référen
