“Proces cum figuris”: reflection of the philosophical and aesthetic concepts of D. Hodová’s works

Abstract

The article discusses the main philosophical and aesthetic concepts of the Daniela Hodrová’s theoretical works (primarily the Román zasvěcení), as well as the specifics of their reflection in the author’s artistic work. In the first part of the work, based on the analysis of the final chapter of the “Dedication novel” – Proces cum figuris – the main aspects that D. Hodrová focuses on are outlined: style, system of characters (characters-archetypes), symbolic structure (symbols with archetypal semantics). In the second part of the work, these aspects are considered in the context of the author’s literary works, both from the 1990s. (the novel trilogy Trýznivé město), and later ones (Točité věty (2015), Vyvolávání (2010), Ta blízkost (2019)). Both the theoretical and literary texts of D. Hodrová are distinguished by a heterogeneous structure, a complex system of symbols and allusions, going back to the theory of the genesis of the novel and individual literary tropes. An analysis of the specifics of the presentation of material in both areas of the author’s work is important for understanding not only the originality of D. Hodrová’s work, but also the characteristic features of the postmodernist narrative in Czech literature.