Pikareska a tendencje demitologizujące w Pieśni lodu i ognia
The Picaresque and Demythologising Tendencies in A Song of Ice and Fire

Author(s): Daria Swędzioł
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Library and Information Science
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: This paper aims at identifying the demythologising tendencies present in A Song of Ice and Fire. Moreover, it points to the discussion with the heroic myth, which in the case of the fantasy genre Martin contributes to happens to be bounded with the chivalry. The model of a picaresque novel is employed on account of the pseudo-medieval embedment of the depicted world and the wide exposition of the themes of the road. Speaking from the perspective of genre criticism, this generic form appears to be a response to the idealism emanating from the chivalric romances. When the picaresque – understood as a polemical means opposing to the classic fantasy works rooted in the mythological context (for instance, The Lord of the Rings) – is concerned, Arya Stark demands a greater attention. The strategy adopted by Martin corresponds to Bogdan Trocha’s thesis concerning the degradation of a myth in fantasy literature. Simultaneously, it is one of the numerous tendencies popular among the contemporary texts of culture, dismantling the generic indicators and playing with literary conventions.

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