„Bakakai” sau Gombrowicz la superlativ
Bakakai or Gombrowicz at superlative

Summary/Abstract: The essay discusses ten short-stories published under the title Bakakai, written by Witold Gombrowicz at the age of 29 year old, partially edited for the first time in 1933 as Pamietnik z okresu dojrzewania. The volume homogeneity – its stories are very diverse – is however ensured by a common denominator, be it formal in nature (their allusive character, playing with literary forms, their sometimes cruel realism, the flexibility of the narrative form) or intrinsic (strange characters, bizarre, alienated peoples). Regarded as a whole, the short-stories depict in a very fresh, simple, suggestive vocabulary, absolutely innovative for the beginning of the XXth century, the absurdity of day-to-day life, because in these stories Gombrowicz’s heroes evolve in more than ordinary social circumstances: they go to the theatre or to the restaurant, pay visits, are presented while fulfilling their duties, they travel, have absolutely normal needs and do not stand out in the least by the way they choose to react to normal life situations. All short-stories included in Bakakai prove Gombrowicz’s artistry and mastery in reading and interpreting man’s personality. In Gombrowicz’s oeuvre – including these stories as well – the affirmation of the Ego in a world dominated by paradoxes is very powerful. The characters form a gallery of very interesting psychological archetypes. Narrated mostly in the first person, the stories reveal to the readers characters that either choose to isolate themselves, or are conditioned by external circumstances to live outside society, because they are obsessive and incapable to manage their way in society. There are also characters that have their own outlook on life, which differs from that of the most people and which is not necessarily in consensus with reality. That is the reason they choose to behave differently, as an act of rebellion in a world they consider grotesque and alien. They do not realize they are the one being grotesque, ridiculous, burlesque.

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