Problem-thematic “Crossroads” of the Novel “Perfume” by P. Süskind and Polish Prose of the 20th century (J. Andrzejewski, W. Gombrowicz)

Abstract

The problematic and thematic similarities and differences between the novels “Perfume” by Süskind, “Ferdydurke” by Gombrowicz, “The Gates of Paradise” by Andrzejewski are considered. The ideological and semantic dominant of the three texts is the idea of the vulnerability of mass and individual consciousness, its susceptibility to other people manipulation. The general semantic field of the novels “Perfume” and “The Gates of Paradise” includes the problems of a charismatic hero, his influence on society, and the tragic confrontation between the crowd and an independent individual. The similarity between the novels “Perfume” and “Ferdydurke” lies in the problem of a mask that levels a person’s individuality, as well as in the study of the mechanism of deconstruction of stereotypes, norms, traditions, and rituals accepted in society, which is manifested in the symbolic image of an amorphous tangle of bodies. The main character of the novel “Perfume”, Grenouille, is an anti-hero, because, on the one hand, he behaves criminally towards nature, trying to appropriate forcibly the absolute of natural beauty, and on the other, he is a provocateur, revealing its vicious properties in human nature. In Andrzejewski’s work “The Gates of Paradise” there is no figure of an antihero, while the protagonist of “Ferdydurke” Józef Kowalski partly corresponds to the type of anti-hero, since, not being a criminal, he plays the plot role of a provocateur and deconstructor of standard situations.