Witold Gombrowicz Criticism
Witold Gombrowicz, a Polish-born novelist and playwright, is celebrated for his innovative and incisive contributions to European literature. He lived in Argentina from 1939 until 1963 before settling in France. Gombrowicz's works often explore existential themes, focusing on the tension between the individual's need for social connection and the desire for personal independence. His sharp satires critique societal norms and the dynamics of power. In plays like Ivona, Princess of Burgundia and The Marriage, Gombrowicz satirizes societal structures, reflecting on existential and Christian themes, as analyzed in The Theatre of Gombrowicz. In his novel Ferdydurke, he delves into the struggle with identity within societal and institutional constraints, depicting the human condition as being trapped by yet dependent on these structures, a perspective explored by Robert Boyers. His work remains vital for its existential insights and its critique of the societal frameworks that shape human experience.
Contents
- Gombrowicz, Witold (Vol. 4)
- Gombrowicz, Witold (Vol. 7)
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Gombrowicz, Witold (Vol. 11)
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The Theatre of Gombrowicz
(summary)
In the following essay, Lucien Goldmann analyzes Witold Gombrowicz's plays "Ivona, Princess of Burgundia" and "The Marriage" as incisive satires of societal structures, highlighting how they reflect existential and Christian themes while critiquing both pre- and post-World War II societies and examining the dynamics of power and legitimacy in revolutionary contexts.
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Gombrowicz and 'Ferdydurke': The Tyranny of Form
(summary)
In the following essay, Robert Boyers explores the existential and artistic concerns in Witold Gombrowicz's novel Ferdydurke, arguing that Gombrowicz critiques societal and institutional forms through a protagonist's struggle with identity, ultimately depicting the human condition as trapped by conventional structures, yet unable to thrive without them.
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The Theatre of Gombrowicz
(summary)