Divergence of feminine and masculine worlds in prose texts by Olga Tokarczuk and Edmund Hlatky

Abstract

In the present study, the author focuses on the interpretation of prose texts by the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and the Slovak writer Edmund Hlatky. He finds a high degree of thematic-motivic congruence between their texts, which is related to the depiction of divergences between the character of the so-called feminine and masculine worlds. The author's main focus in the study is on the detailed portrayal of the characters and the specifics of their interaction with the world around them. In the case of Olga Tokarczuk, he focuses on the prose books House of day, house of night and Playing on many drums, and in the case of Edmund Hlatky on his short story collections Autumnal haze and Glory and mystery. The author observes the psychology of the heroes in life's exposed moments and trials, examines the degree to which the use of religious motifs and the Bible is functional, and analyses the degree of tragedy that weighs on the heroes in their different psychological states and in their search for the meaning of life. The author finds a high degree of similarity in the portrayal of the female characters in the two interpreted novelists, which can be seen from the aspect of biblical heroism, redemption or at least from the aspect of peaceful loving asylum, which stands in contrast to the male characters.