THE FIGURE OF THE ABSENT MAN IN ZYGMUNT NIEDŹWIECKI’S SHORT PROSE WORKS

Abstract

The scientific aim of this article is to discuss the figure of the absent man in the prose of Zygmunt Niedźwiecki. The research material was the writer’s short stories included in a four-volume collection published in Lublin in the years 2009–2012. In discussing the figure of the absent man, the author uses the concept of modern masculinity, which is part of studies on masculinity. The in-depth analysis leads to the conclusion that in the 19th century there was a clear crisis of patriarchy, which questioned such determinants of masculinity as courage, honor and willpower. The end of the 19th century exposes the degradation of male heroes who function in a space of values that, on one hand, are becoming a thing of the past, and on the other hand, become a point of reference for an attempt to create a new male model in times of crisis, which also includes a crisis in the functioning of the family. The writer looks at everyday existence, in which his characters seek happiness and try to find their place, and thus define themselves as men. The growing dilemmas resulting from the attempt to reconcile the traditional image with the modern one, in which a man does not have to mask his feelings, fears, phobias, have become a source of further issues. The absentees are men who are merely extinct type of hero leaving behind sentimental trinkets and everyday objects that play a key role in the processing of grief by the closest family members, or men who, due to their professional commitments,

rarely appear in the home space. Also absenttees might be seen as the outsiders, the heroes standing on the sidelines, observing social life from a safe distance. Male-female relationship dynamics, often based on lies, in Zygmunt Niedźwiecki’s stories are depicted, which are the main driving force of action, but at the same time they are not selfless, because in such arrangements men are often focused on profit. However, Niedźwiecki’s men are also victims of patriarchy and do not embody the masculine model of strength, courage or bravery; they value only male-male relations in publiс space above all else. The Niedźwiecki’s stories studied here may become a contribution to a broader perspective on the studies on masculinity and its crisis.