“Captured by Love” – The Kenotic Power of a Poor Lady and the Symbolism of her Room in the Prose of Jaroslav Durych
“Captured by Love” – The Kenotic Power of a Poor Lady and the Symbolism of her Room in the Prose of Jaroslav Durych

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to point out possibilities of theological-anthropological interpretation of the relation between man and woman as reflected in the work of Jaroslav Durych (1886–1962), the leading Czech Catholic writer of the first half of the 20th century. The point is here stressed that the specific structure of the meaning of his work refers to the determination of man in the eternal Trinitarian love rather than to individual accents of the author’s thinking. This referential potential is further elaborated by the reflection on the symbolism of female protagonists’ rooms in Durych’s writings. The first part of the article lists various possibilities of theological approach to Durych’s literary work. It then introduces basic conceptual features of the narration about the relation between man and woman and mentions the possibility of understanding this narration as a parable of human existential pilgrimage. This contribution further hints at the work’s strong referential potential on the question of the determination of man in Christ. Finally, this potential is elaborated by the symbolism of female protagonists’ rooms.

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