Jan Lechoń’s Face and Mask. Based on Tischner’s Experience of Truth and Identity

Abstract

The aim of the article is to discover what Jan Lechoń communicated through the mask and what role it played in his life. I consider this issue on the basis of Tischner’s experience of mask and face, closely related to the categories of truth and identity. The mask belongs to the category of phenomena, which is why I study it with phenomenological tools, taking into account the axiological perspective. The mask and the face are boundary phenomena related to the source experience, which allows us to discuss the phenomenology of the boundary. In the work of Lechoń, the mask is a key concept related to the category of the Other. The mask phenomenon exists in a specific triangle of interdependence: mask bearer – mask – observer, which means that the effectiveness of the mask depends on the viewer. The mask, then, is to be used through the fault of the Other, it is called for by social life.

Keywords

• Jan Lechoń
• Joseph Tischner
• Phenomenology
• 20th Century Polish Poetry
• Mask
• Other