6533b7dbfe1ef96bd126f892

RESEARCH PRODUCT

"Sprawa Bourgeta" – czyli co właściwie łączy Sienkiewiczowskie "Bez dogmatu" z Bourgetowskim "Le Disciple"?

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It is a common critical tradition to compare a Polish novel and a French one. The article attempts to examine this phenomenon and to State exactly what (or no) relations between both texts, by searching critical judgments of the time and by analyzing the same texts’ level. There are following parallels (typologically, but not genetically determined) to be confirmed: anti-positivist and idealistic attitude of both authors, which have seen their texts as manifestos of outlook ; an intertextual potency of the novels, close related to their hypo- and hypertexts; as well as several, although superficial similarities of stories’ plots. The most convincing, however, there are the real differences: the way the pseudo-scientific, quasi-philosophical (psychological) thesis are put forward and proved; the differences in poetics and aesthetic tenor of both works and the disproportion of their artistic values. Nevertheless, Bourget’s Le Disciple and Sienkiewicz’s Without Dogma played the crucial role in changing the mental climate of the fin-de-siecle time. Also they represent an interesting form of a novel-a'hybryd', which joins elements of a romance and essay.