Képolvasási és szövegolvasási stratégiák Nádas Péter: A fotográfia szép története
Image and Textual Reading Strategies – in Péter Nádas’s A Lovely Tale of Photography

Summary/Abstract: In the prose of Péter Nádas the writings concerning the relationship between the literary text and visual portrayal, seem to represent a separate unit. Regarding the complete published works the reader may come across several creations that depict photographs, pictures, iconographies, occasionally associates with the text, namely with that discursive space, which frames, anticipates, follows or organises this affi liation. The list of the above examples could be enhanced not only by the works evaluating on the theme of the name in an indirect way, but could be enriched by the web of the alluded elements appearing in other works as well. When interpreting the works, the critic’s opinion focuses mainly on the status of the former phenomenon. He ascribes the picture an autonomous state and tries to grade, categorize those elements, which – by the marking system of the picture – lead the literary text astray. This approach looks for the variations of the materiality in the text and recognizes the picture as a kind of tool which mediates between the inner, immanent world and the exterior, material world of the work. Investigating Nádas’ short story entitled A lovely tale of photography (1992) one can observe that it’s referential basis, the picture, dislodges the language which is pushed between barriers, whilst the logic of the word processing method suggests that the fragmentation of the language, the absence of utterance is dominant throughout. To prove this the analysis has to be widened to the inspection of the short story’s emerging conditions. With the help of this I will attempt to (re)defi ne the work of Nádas from two quite interconnected points of view. The fi rst angle proceeds from the context of the genesis of the short story. Next to the essay called Melancholy (Mélabú, 1988) an interview with Nádas, refl ecting on a fi lm story is also part of the analysis. The aim of the second part of my essay is likewise not alien to the context of the short story. In connection to the characters’ relationship to life/existence and death I invoke the texts of Foucault and Blanchot.

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