In this book-length study, Ewa Szary-Matywiecka examines Maria Wirtemberska´s Malvina, or the Heart´s Intuition, an international success upon its publication in 1816 that is now widely considered to be Poland´s first psychological novel. Applying structuralist methods, Szary-Matywiecka situates Wirtemberska among other literary luminaries of her day, including Rousseau and Goethe, and explores how the nineteenth-century salon culture formed the concerns and themes of her novel.

Malvina´s obsession with language games recall the vocabulary quizzes and semantic puzzles popular in the European salons frequented by Wirtemberska. Szary-Matywiecka also argues that the novel´s motif of twins and twinned characters emerges from both the theatrical preoccupations of salons, as well as how Wirtemberska seemingly splits her voice between traditional narration and a more intrusive authorial style, helping shape her novel´s innovative narrative method.

Malvina, or Spoken Word in the Novel is an insightful deconstruction of a female-penned classic of European literature. Â


Format Häftad Omfång 230 sidor Språk Engelska Förlag Karolinum,Nakladatelstvi Univerzity Karlovy,Czech Republic Utgivningsdatum 2023-01-31 ISBN 9788024645322