Schizophrenia in Wit Szostak’s „Haruspicy” („Wróżenie z wnętrzności”)

Abstract

The article is a close reading of Wit Szostak’s „Haruspicy”. The novel is told from the first-person perspective, by an autistic narrator, whose alienation is a result of a psychotic crisis. The protagonist, who did not speak for several years, slowly starts his movement towards the world, mediated by language. This return is represented as “writing in whispers,” from which the narrative of the novel originates. The story design may be understood as an exemplification of Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytical theories, as the protagonist manages to deal with the world only so far as he remains in a mirroring identification with his twin brother. As soon as this relation breaks down, the psychosis relapses.