AUTORSKÉ EGO V CUDZOM PROSTREDÍ (VAJANSKÝ VO VÄZENÍ A V BENÁTKACH)

• Authors: Marcela Mikulová

Title variants

EN

Author´s ego in a strange environment (Vajanský in prison and in Venice)

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The study describes Vajanský´s author subject in unusual situations which occurred in his life one after another. He was imprisoned as a journalist for political reasons in Vác in the year 1904, where he wrote a Note Diary. As a well-known writer he was a prominent prisoner and would come across many gestures of solidarity. Besides recording everyday prison life and commenting on social and political events, a significant part of the diary includes critical comments on A. P. Chekhov´s works that he was reading. One of the reasons why he did not publish the diary was his negative assessment of Chekhov, which was in contradiction to the positive contemporary reception. Vajanský first came to Venice in 1905, which was for him as an art connoisseur a dream come true and he could fill a gap in this genre by writing his travelogue Volosko-Venecia. That way he followed in the footsteps of popular and much appreciated „Italian travels“ written by his idols – J. W. Goethe and J. Kollár. Additionally written parts remove spontaneity from the travelogue, enthusing about the perfect beauty of classical arts and condemning anything contemporary confirm that Vajanský is a representative of „ideal“ Realism. Both of the genres feature pretending authenticity, vanity and a sense of disenchantment with insufficient recognition – they lack introspection, detachment or self-deprecation. The author in both genres overuses his competence and wastes a chance to depict himself as a multidimensional personality.

Keywords

EN

AUTHOR SUBJECT; DIARY; TRAVELOGUE; INTROSPECTION; IDEOLOGY; VAJANSKÝ; VENICE

• Publisher: Institute of Slovak Literature, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Slovenská literatúra (Slovak Literature)
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 353 – 365

Contributors

author

Marcela Mikulová

• Ústav slovenskej literatúry SAV, Konventná 13, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovak Republic