Slovenska Literatura (Oct 2007)
Dominik Tatarka: Forming of Discourse of Moral And Civic Subversion in the Novella Prútené kreslá (Basket Chairs)
Abstract
The object of my study is a novella Prútené kreslá (Basket Chairs, 1963) written by Dominik Tatarka. This novella was published altogether with his other prose Démon súhlasu (Demon of Permission). The Basket Chairs signalised new and later also characteristic features of Tatarka´s auctorial idiolect. After existentially surrealistic beginning and ideologically incorrect continuance Tatarka´s prose had been since the end of 50-tieth (from his bi-novella Rozhovory bez konca – Endless Conversations, 1959) influenced by his effort to find his own strategy in creating his message about contemporary ethic and aesthetic problems. A theme of existence for other person became for him a medium of such message. It meant voluntary but also spontaneous fellowship, personal involvement in a life and destiny of a neighbour. He made it happen with great respect to individuality of the other person what seemed to be a risk of subversive respond in the context of ideologically programmed “cold” relationships. Since the end of 50-tieth Tatarka´s literary works pursued “hand by hand” with his essays and reportages. In spite of the author’s as well as period’s limits the novella Prútené kreslá (Basket Chairs) connects all mentioned above influences in a good way. Modernity in that text bears a character of self-discovery and self-identification in the existentially vulnerable historical period and as well as in cosmopolite space of later taboo “western” world. Except of that in a very interesting way the author worked with traditional cliché of courteousness love epic. In that text Tatarka discovered his typical autobiographic protagonist who became a narrator. It makes the novella quite important in the context of his proses. Tatarka´s narrator’s stylisation is based on a connection between reminiscent story telling and evocation with exemplary didactic effects.
