Issue #10 is here!

This year, the number of submissions exceeded our expectations. Althought we decided to publish more texts - 15 instead of 10 - to celebrate the 10th/tin e-issue, the choice was still difficult... and we would like to thank you for that;)

Click on the cover and you will read:

Julia Sułkowska “The paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man”: Innate Evil, Worthless Human Love, and the Interactive House in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”

The essay provides an analysis of E.A. Poe’s gothic short story, discussing its three main issues: the contrast between human and human-animal love, as based on the juxtaposition of the protagonist’s feelings towards his wife and his pets; possible explanation of the main character’s misdeeds, as embodying human inborn inclination towards evil; finally, the reflection of the protagonist’s personality in the house itself. The essay makes a claim that the terror evoked by the story comes precisely from realizing that humans are inherently prone to evil, and all the horror is ultimately human-based.

Aleksandra Gałązka A Canary or an Eagle? Jane Eyre on the Quest for Love and Autonomy

This essay explores the complexity of reconciling the desire of love with retaining one’s liberty and independence. In her novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë uses bird imagery, enclosed locations, and patriarchal characters to illustrate the oppressed position of a 19th-century English woman who could either conform to the standards of the day, or perish as a cautionary tale. The nonconformist eponymous heroine of the narrative refuses to confine herself to this choice and sets on her quest for autonomy and personal fulfilment.

Anastazja Jagoda Busz “I saw Beauty Enthroned”: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Idea of Female Fatality

This essay explores the nuanced representation of women in the art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, focusing on the femme fatale trope as an alternative to traditional gender roles during the Victorian era. Rossetti's work demonstrates the blurred lines between the ‘sinful’ and the ‘innocent,’ questioning the conventional dichotomy. Through both poetry and visual art, he reveals the ambiguity of fatal femininity, emphasising the role of perception in defining these representations. Rossetti's non-stereotypical approach portrays the distinction between the femme fatale and the ‘pure’ woman as unclear, expressing the complexity of female identity in art.

Jan Kurpiński Go in Fear of Abstractions: An Outline for Anarcho-Dialectic Critique of Modernist Literary Philosophy

The essay aims to outline the possible practical use of the anarcho-dialectic critique in literature studies working on the example of two formative modernist texts - Ezra Pound's "A Retrospect" and T.S.Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent". The main goal of the essay is to provide an entrance point for an immanent critique of the philosophical assumptions of both authors and the practical consequences of them in the field of theory of literature, poetry, and the aesthetic philosophy of modernist art in general from the emerging perspective of anarcho-dialectics.

Konrad Zaręba The Modernist Mythical Method and Plastic Theatre in Tennessee Williams’s Orpheus Descending

This essay explores Tennessee Williams's role in modernist theatre, focusing on his innovative concept of plastic theatre in connection to T. S. Eliot’s mythical method. It delves into Williams's rejection of realism in favour of subjective storytelling and empathetic expression. Drawing parallels with abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann, it underscores their shared emphasis on spirituality and individuality in art. Examining Williams' play Orpheus Descending, the essay highlights how he skilfully employs the mythical method to critique the decay of Southern society. It emphasizes the fusion of plastic theatre and mythical method as a distinctive and influential feature of Williams's modernist theatrical approach.

Konrad Zaręba “Feeling Dickie’s rings between his palms”: The Talented Mr Ripley and the Queering of Material Possessions

This essay delves into Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley and its film adaptations, exploring the queer undertones in Tom Ripley's complex relationships and identity struggles. Focusing on the novel and the cinematic renditions, it analyses the symbolic significance of material possessions, particularly clothing, in expressing Ripley's homosexual desires and shaping his fluid identity. The study uncovers the intersection of economic and sexual fetishism, revealing how Tom's intimate interactions with objects serve as conduits for self-expression, desire, and the transformative performance of identity. This interpretation enriches the understanding of Ripley's character, offering a nuanced perspective on his psychological motivations.

Maria Czubaty Music in the Cosmogony of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth

This essay focuses on the role of music in the cosmogony of Middle-earth. It features an overview of the philosophical sources and literary works which could have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to choose this mode of creation for his fictional world, focusing especially on the concept of the music of the spheres which has established an association between harmony, music and good in literature for millennia. The essay also discusses the significance of music in the later uses of magic in Middle-earth.

Antonina Nizielska “Is She Fact or Is She Fiction?”: Feminist Magical Realism in Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus

This essay examines Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus using a feminist magical realism critical perspective. In the essay magical realism and the postmodern feminist approach of Helene Cixous are presented as two complementary critical approaches. Magical realism structurally connected with postmodern feminism results in a deconstruction of the fixed dualism of the novel’s world. As systems premised on transgressing binary oppositions of Western thought, magical realism, and postmodern feminism become the means of empowering the main heroine in the novel.

Adrianna Bartoszek Laughing at Disability: The Problem of Representation in The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh

This text analyses The Cripple of Inishmaan, a black comedy by Martin McDonagh through the perspective of disability studies and humour theory. The author argues that black humour serves the deconstruction of typical patterns of representation. Laughter, evoked by McDonagh's play, is directed towards discriminative attitudes towards disability. The nervousness, which is a result of a clash between comic and tragic register, becomes a cause for the reflection on issues that tend to be overlooked. This work presents research both in the field of disability studies and humour theory, introducing terms such as "narrative prosthesis", "disability models", and "incongruity theory”.

Julia Sułkowska “Our family is in trouble”: The Endangered Safety of the British Homes and the Duty Towards Future Generations on World-War-One Propaganda Posters

The essay provides a visual and conceptual comparison of two World War I propaganda posters (“Is your home worth fighting for?” and “Daddy, what did you do in the Great War?”), analysing the prominent manipulation techniques they embody. It is being argued that what was supposed to encourage young Brits to join the war was making it as close to their hearts as possible by pointing to the endangered safety of their families. The emotionally manipulative posters, not addressing the brutal reality of the battlefield, aimed at evoking feelings of guilt and concern for the dear ones, accompanied by a strong need to prove one’s masculinity, which could only be achieved on the front.

Weronika Kubik “Everyone who Fucks with Gender has Some Kind of Brush with Violence”: Brandon Teena’s Unequal Fight Against Transphobia in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and The Brandon Teena Story (1998)

Violence against queer people is a widespread social issue that can take various forms and target individuals of all identities and sexualities. One of its many kinds is transphobia – hostility and hatred towards transgender people. Unfortunately, each year it claims many lives, as shown by data collected by such organizations as Transrespect versus Transphobia. It is not, however, a new problem. Transgender people faced persecution even before the proper terminology was introduced, as can be seen on the example of the heartbreaking case of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man whose life was taken due to senseless bigotry. The story is the subject matter of two distinct movies – a documentary The Brandon Teena Story (1998) and a dramatized representation in Boys Don’t Cry (1999). The text presents an analysis of attitudes towards transgender people thirty years ago based on the situations depicted in the films, as well as discusses the current day situation of transgender individuals.

Maja Wandasiewicz “Is This Really All There Is?”: The Green Knight (2021) and the Crisis of Identity

The essay offers a reflection on David Lowery’s The Green Knight (2021) and its portrayal of medieval hegemonic masculinity, here closely related to the performativity of knighthood. It compares the rather loose adaptation to the original 14th-century romance and asks questions whether both of these cultural texts can be read as equally subversive. It focuses on the character of Sir Gawain and his reluctant initiation into normative manhood and follows his journey, arriving at a place of questioning the whole code of medieval masculinity as a whole.

Cecylia Meredith Matilda the Musical and the Archetypal Autistic Girl

This essay examines ways in which the titular character from Matilda the Musical embodies traits reflective of the experiences of many autistic girls. It analyzes her early development, communication patterns, dynamics of interaction, areas of intense interest, as well as the social structures she exists within, drawing parallels with experiences common among autistic individuals. Through the lens of critical autism studies, the essay aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of autistic representation in popular culture and its impact on the autistic community.

Kacper Baker Models of Language Representation and Bi- and Multilingualism in Priming Studies

This review aims to define the phenomena of bilingualism and multilingualism, as well as determine the degree to which the current models of language representation explain the results of research utilising the priming paradigm; mainly focusing on the “Revised Hierarchical Model” (Kroll and Stewart 1994) and the “Bilingual Interactive Activation + Model” (Dijkstra and van Heuven 2002). Results from the studies of Fitzpatrick and Izura (2011), Gudmundson (2020), and Duñabeitia et al. (2009) suggest that both models can explain most, but not all cases, thus there is a need to create a new, more detailed model, being a synthesis of the two.

Magdalena Sikora Documentary Translation and Skopos Theory

The translation of documentary films remains a neglected area within Translation Studies, partly due to certain misconceptions about the genre. The purpose of the essay is to explore and advocate for the analysis of documentary translation through the prism of Skopos theory which can ensure the effectiveness and coherence of the translated documentary for a specific context. Skopos theory offers a valuable framework for guiding the process of translating documentaries by emphasizing the translation's purpose and target audience. The application of Skopos theory sheds light on the dynamic nature of documentary translation, facilitating a more nuanced understanding of this still underexplored field.

eFOLIO TIN JUBILEE INTERVIEWS

prof. ucz. dr hab. Aniela Korzeniowska, prof. ucz. dr hab. Dorota Babilas, prof. ucz. dr hab. Małgorzata Łuczyńska-Hołdys, dr hab. Anna Pochmara-Ryżko, dr hab. Anna Wojtyś

Enjoy!