Place as a causative factor in literary works of Gustaw Herling-Grudziński and his short story Bridge (Most. Z kroniki naszego miasta)

Abstract

The author analyses the relation between the literary character and the place in Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s Most. Z kroniki naszego miasta (1963). The author attempts to prove that places shown by Herling-Grudziński play a significant role in the writer’s biography and also influence the way of acting and decisions of literary characters created by the writer. Using geopoetics as its starting point, this perspective puts emphasis on the category of place considered in both geographic and literary dimension. In her interpretation of the short story by Herling-Grudziński, the author attempts to show that the bridge affects the life of the main character, his behaviour and attitude to the world. The article also offers a summary of critical approaches to the presentation of space motifs in the literary works of Herling-Grudziński. The context for the analysis is provided by the writer’s biography which highlights his personal experience connected with private places. The analytical key to unlock their senses is taken from geopoetics as the perspective which may enable us to find new content in the unique literary output of Herling-Grudziński.