The Lead Bird by Margita Figuli: Contemporary Reading with Regard to Historical Context

Abstract

The goal of the paper is to present Margita Figuli´s novel Olovený vták/The Lead Bird by means of contemporary reading with regard to the historical and social context of its creation and its place in literary history. This pacifist piece of prose criticizing participation of Slovakia in the war against Poland (1939) is well-known for its controversial publication in the pro-regime magazine Slovenské pohľady (1940) led by the editor Stanislav Mečiar and an alleged connection to the writer´s follow-up dismissal from Tatra banka in 1941 – 1942. The interpretation of the novel, which has only been the subject of fragmentary analysis to date, is concerned with the key points found in the text in terms of the structure and the spiritual dimension underrated so far. The text revolves around a character of a woman living in a tragic relation to the reality, which refers to the archetype of the mourning mother and the prototype of biblical Mary, alternatively ancient Niobe. The interpretation aims at the conclusion saying that the prose work can be included in the late line of expressionist prose. What helps cast light on the place of the book in the writer´s biography is her correspondence, publication activity, studies of literary scientists and knowledge of the historians analysing the period of the Slovak Republic (1939 – 1945).

Keywords

• margita figuli
• the lead bird
• magazine slovenské pohľady
• stanislav mečiar
• mary
• the motif of mother
• the motif of war