DEATH OF THE AUTHOR, OR HOW SKOLIMOWSKI COOKED GOMBROWICZ’S GOOSE
The text is devoted to the film adaptation of the novel Ferdydurke, made by Jerzy Skolimowski. The author points out two main reasons for the artistic failure of the director. Firstly, Skolimowski did not take into account the peculiarities of the poetics of the novel, especially its performative character. Nor did he take into account Gombrowicz’s metaliterary discourse, or its specific location in the structure of the novel. Secondly, Skolimowski used traditional understanding of the “Forms” category, in which it is treated as something oppressive and external. Meanwhile, Gombrowicz’s “Form” has also a performative dimension: it is the limit, but at the same time creates that which is prohibited. The author also challenges the previous attempts to indicate the analogy between Gombrowicz and Skolimowski.
Translated by Marian Bielecki