Powierzchnia i głębia: szkic o cielesności w polskiej romantycznej noweli fantastycznej
Surface and depth: a sketch of carnality in a Polish romantic fantasy novel

Summary/Abstract: Using August Wilhelm Schlegel’s definition of the short story and Tvetan Todorov’s concept of the fantastic, the essay presents three Romantic fantasy short stories. The author focuses on the representation of the body and corporeality. The works analyzed attempt to challenge the post-Enlightenment materialistic perspective and redefine the body and soul dichotomy. The essay discusses three models of presenting the body in the selected short stories. The first model, in Życie po śmierci [Life after Death] by J. I. Kraszewski, follows the logics of the grotesque and presents the body as not only the object, but also the vehicle of narration. The second model, in Lekarz magnetyczny [The Magnetic Doctor] by Józef Dzierzkowski, indicates the physiognomical understanding of the body as a sign, a call for interpretation. The third model, in Dentysta [The Dentist] by Henryk Rzewuski, involves the process of a radical suspension of the body and soul dichotomy: the body is conceived as pure surface.

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