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A Model of Modernity

Bruno Schulz’s “Ulica Krokodyli” (“The Street of Crocodiles”): the Story’s Intermediary

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a new interpretation of Bruno Schulz’s short story “Ulica Krokodyli (The Street of Crocodiles)”, most often understood as showing the transformation which Drohobych underwent at the beginning of the 20th century. As based on the Drohobych press issued before the World War I and on historical papers, an attempt was made to reconstruct a possible context of Street of Crocodiles, i.e. plans of Drohobych rebuilding, especially the city’s electrification and building a streetcar line. The story’s careful reading allows to set an ontologically ambiguous character of many objects which do not have the status of real buildings but seem to be a part of a paper model. The observations lead to concluding that Schulz presents a projected unfulfilled future of Drohobych modernity after which only a model remained.

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