Tron Hadesa we Wniebowstąpieniu Tadeusza Konwickiego

Abstract

Hades’ throne in the novel “Wniebowstąpienie’’ (Ascension) by Tadeusz Konwicki

The article discusses Konwicki’s reference in “Wniebowstąpienie” (Ascension) (1967), one of the most outstanding Polish novels of the post-World War II period, to ancient representations of Hades sitting on a throne. In the novel Tadeusz Konwicki portrays Warsaw and - pars pro toto - the People’s Republic of Poland as a land of the dead, unaware of their death and functioning as if they were alive; this message is emphasised by references to Greek mythology (related to Charon, rivers flowing in Hades, the castle of the ruler of the hereafter). The author of the article searches for texts and images to which Konwicki might have referred his readers; ultimately, he argues that the image in which the writer refers to the imagery of Hades in the castle’s throne room was based on popularised studies of mythology. There were two such studies in particular in the Polish culture of the period: by Jan Parandowski and Wanda Markowska. In both cases, in the chapters devoted to the hereafter, one can notice elements that resonate strongly in the depicted world of the “Ascension”.