Jára Cimrman, geniusz urojony? Kilka uwag o najwybitniejszym Czechu i czeskiej tożsamości narodowej
Jara Cimrman, the imaginary genius? A few remarks on the most prominent Czech and Czech national identity

Summary/Abstract: The main aim of the paper is to present Jára Cimrman, a forgotten and underestimated Czech genius, the fictional literary character which has become very popular in Czech culture in the second half of XX century. The paper is an attempt to reconstruct the genesis of the character and to describe its role and function in the Czech culture. The study analyses the literary traditions connected with Cimrman (such as the writings of Karel Havlíček-Borovský or Jaroslav Hašek, especially in the context of the anecdote as a literary material), the role of the political context in Czechoslovakia in the second half of the 20th century is also emphasized. The author also describes Cimrman as an embodiment and personification one of the Czech self-stereotypes and focuses on his connection with myths and narratives from the period of Czech national revival.

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