Figura autorytetu w czasach ponowoczesnych
The Figure of Authority in Postmodern Times

The Works of Olga Tokarczuk in the Face of the Ethical Turn

Summary/Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the concept of authority in the context of Olga Tokarczuk’s works and the ethical turn movement. The discussion covers changes in the perception of the figure of authority which are related to postmodern theories questioning traditional and so far established categories and ideas. By linking authority to the figure of the author and the ethical dimension of reading, it is possible to examine their role in contemporary literature. In Olga Tokarczuk’s works, a socially engaged writer, authority is manifested, for example, in the concept of the fourth-person point of view narrative, the fourth-person narrator. As a result, the emphasis is placed on the relationship of this figure to concepts such as responsibility, empathy or tenderness as they are the foundation of ethical reflection. The analysis of the Nobel Prize winner’s works reveals a type of authority described as alternative or symbolic which does not act as a carrier of values and attitudes widely acknowledged as moral, but rather aspires to present a variety of alternative visions of the world and, consequently, to broaden the reader’s sensitivity towards the Other.

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