The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj
The article analyzes the creation of alternative histories using the examples of Xavras Wyżryn [Xavras Wyżryn] and Lód [Ice]. The focus of the interpretations will be on the question of why this particular period was subjected to counterfactual processes. In Xavras, the first half of the twentieth...
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University of Silesia Press
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Postscriptum Polonistyczne |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/PPol/article/view/17486 |
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| author | Anna Łebkowska |
| author_facet | Anna Łebkowska |
| author_sort | Anna Łebkowska |
| collection | DOAJ |
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The article analyzes the creation of alternative histories using the examples of Xavras Wyżryn [Xavras Wyżryn] and Lód [Ice]. The focus of the interpretations will be on the question of why this particular period was subjected to counterfactual processes. In Xavras, the first half of the twentieth century is presented as a sequence of events resulting from the still ongoing war of 1920, that is, as an effect of human actions; in Ice, on the other hand, the events are caused by a meteorite impact, that is, they result from natural factors. In both works, 1918–1939 is not a period marked by war and is not decisive for the development of the Polish state. In this article, I will discuss the methods of constructing fictional worlds and answer the fundamental questions about the relationship between chance and the supreme law built into history, especially the juxtaposition of ideas of modernity and the growing totalitarianism. First, however, I will focus on the new ways of interpreting culturally mythologized spaces, logical and philosophical theories, and interpersonal relations through fictional alternative worlds.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8db07201af4d4c1a979354c33307d0b3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1898-1593 2353-9844 |
| language | ces |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | University of Silesia Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Postscriptum Polonistyczne |
| spelling | doaj-art-8db07201af4d4c1a979354c33307d0b32025-08-20T01:58:30ZcesUniversity of Silesia PressPostscriptum Polonistyczne1898-15932353-98442025-02-0110.31261/PS_P.2024.34.14The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek DukajAnna Łebkowska0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3954-5388Jagiellonian University The article analyzes the creation of alternative histories using the examples of Xavras Wyżryn [Xavras Wyżryn] and Lód [Ice]. The focus of the interpretations will be on the question of why this particular period was subjected to counterfactual processes. In Xavras, the first half of the twentieth century is presented as a sequence of events resulting from the still ongoing war of 1920, that is, as an effect of human actions; in Ice, on the other hand, the events are caused by a meteorite impact, that is, they result from natural factors. In both works, 1918–1939 is not a period marked by war and is not decisive for the development of the Polish state. In this article, I will discuss the methods of constructing fictional worlds and answer the fundamental questions about the relationship between chance and the supreme law built into history, especially the juxtaposition of ideas of modernity and the growing totalitarianism. First, however, I will focus on the new ways of interpreting culturally mythologized spaces, logical and philosophical theories, and interpersonal relations through fictional alternative worlds. https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/PPol/article/view/17486modern literaturealternative historiesinterwar periodJacek Dukajfantasy literaturemodernity |
| spellingShingle | Anna Łebkowska The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj Postscriptum Polonistyczne modern literature alternative histories interwar period Jacek Dukaj fantasy literature modernity |
| title | The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj |
| title_full | The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj |
| title_fullStr | The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj |
| title_short | The Interwar Period That Wasn’t: Alternative Histories of the Twentieth Century in the Prose of Jacek Dukaj |
| title_sort | interwar period that wasn t alternative histories of the twentieth century in the prose of jacek dukaj |
| topic | modern literature alternative histories interwar period Jacek Dukaj fantasy literature modernity |
| url | https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/PPol/article/view/17486 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annałebkowska theinterwarperiodthatwasntalternativehistoriesofthetwentiethcenturyintheproseofjacekdukaj AT annałebkowska interwarperiodthatwasntalternativehistoriesofthetwentiethcenturyintheproseofjacekdukaj |