The Prose Fiction and Polemics of Karel Matêj Capek-Chod PhD thesis by Kathleen Hayes School of Slavonic and East European Studies University of London 1997 ProQuest Number: 10106537 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10106537 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the staff at the Pamâtnik nârodniho pisemnictvi, the Narodni knihovna and the Ûstav pro Ceskou literaturu in Prague, in particular Lubos Merhaut. Administrative and teaching staff at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London, have been generous in their support; I would like to thank in particular Carol Pearce, Martyn Rady and David Short. I am indebted to the lecturers in Czech at Cambridge and Oxford for their help during my four years of study at SSEES. Among friends who have given me much encouragement I would like to mention John Andrew, David Chirico, Michael Cooke, Radek Honzak, Rosalind McKenzie, Radojka Miljevic, Kevin Power, Kieran Williams and Tomâs Zykân. Without the unfailing support of my family, both material and emotional, I would never have had the opportunity to study for a higher degree. I am deeply grateful to the whole clan; I must, however, single out for thanks my mother and Annie and Mary, because they have shown a truly remarkable generosity. I must also thank my cousin, Bruce Jones. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, R. B. Pynsent, in whom I have found a mentor and a friend. Without his guidance, enthusiasm and untiring assistance I could not have completed the thesis. Thesis Abstract: The Prose Fiction and Polemics of Karel Matëj Capek-Chod K. M. Ôapek-Chod (1860-1927) had a well-established reputation as a journalist and caustic polemicist before laudatory reviews of his third novel, Kaspar Lén mstitel (1908) secured him recognition as a major writer. His contemporaries, however, often criticized his works as the pessimistic outbursts of a cynic, which they were not. The thesis is divided into two parts: the first treats his belleslettres; the second, his polemics. In the Introduction, I consider the shortcomings of critical assessments of his works and suggest that they can best be understood as belonging to the tradition of literature of the grotesque. In Chapter 1, I summarize theories of the grotesque and indicate how aspects of Capek-Chod's fiction (narrative structure, characters, images and situations) , can be interpreted in this light. In the subsequent chapters, I analyse major themes in his fiction: depictions of science, art and artists; of woman; and of the Jews. I indicate in what respect his treatment of these themes is unconventional and contributes to the construction of the grotesque world of his fiction. The second part of the thesis is subdivided into two sections: in the first, I treat his polemics concerning art exhibitions and contemporary events prior to the Great War. These polemics discuss the role of the critic and artist, and the relation between art and politics in fin-de--siècle culture. The second section treats polemics between Ôapek-Chod and critics of his fiction throughout his writing career. I demonstrate that he was highly sensitive to critics and that even when positive reviews appeared, any remark therein that he regarded as false inspired 'sarcastic' fulmination. I ascertain that as a polemicist Ôapek- Chod was a nationalist writer, while nationalism is barely evident at all in his bellelettres, which analyse ironically the conflict between man's ideals and reality. Table of Contents Part I Introduction 1. Biographical Notes p. 6 2. Capek-Chod's Fiction p. 21 3. Naturalism and Realism p. 22 4. The Grotesque p. 3 0 5. The Polemics p. 34 Chapter 1. The Grotesque and Ôapek-Chod 1. Paradox in Romantic Irony and the Grotesque p. 37 2. The Grotesque and Ôapek-Chod p. 46 3. Self-Referential Narration p. 52 4. Grotesque Characters: Incongruities p. 64 5. Tricksters p. 65 6. The Grotesque Image and Situation p. 73 7. Role Reversals p. 78 Chapter 2. Science, Art and Artists 1. Science and Art p. 80 2. Music and Instinct p. 94 3. Music and the Human Lot p. 106 4. Music as Religion p. Ill Chapter 3. Depictions of Woman 1. Introduction p. 119 2. The Femme Enfant p. 121 3. The Femme Fatale p. 125 4. Sisters p. 127 5. The Jewish Woman p. 131 6. The New Woman p. 137 7. The Fallen Woman p. 146 8. Conclusion p. 156 Chapter 4. Jews in the Works of Ôapek-Chod 1. Capek-Chod and Antisemitism p. 158 2. Feuilletons p. 162 3. Realia p. 165 4. Jewish Male Characters p. 170 5. Dr Freund p. 178 6. Post-war Works p. 185 Part II Chapter 5. The Polemics - I 1. Frantisek Bllek p. 194 2. The Emperor's Gift p. 201 3. The Rodin Exhibition: the Press p. 206 4. The Rodin Exhibition: Capek and Saida p. 211 5. German Newspapers p. 222 6. Edvard Bém and the Realist Press p. 224 7. F. V. KrejCi: Informace pro cizinu p. 237 8. The KrejCi Epilogue p. 252 9. Japanese Millions p. 255 10. Electoral Reform p. 258 11. das p. 264 12. Machar and the Sale ofNârodni listy p. 274 Chapter 6. The Polemics II - Fiction and Drama 1. Polemical Fiction p. 300 2. Kaspar Lén mstitel p. 304 3. Nové patero p. 306 4. Begüv samokres p. 314 5. Slunovrat p. 322 6. Dykùv pflpad a mùj p. 328 7. Antonin Vondrejc p. 334 8. Jindrové p. 338 9. Hofkâ groteska a ûmyslné pokfiveniny p. 340 10. Vilém Rozkoô p. 345 11. State Prizes p. 352 12. Gustav Winter: Nase literatura ve Francii p. 359 13. 'Vëda, erotika a metafora v românë' p. 364 Bibliography p. 372 In trodu cti on 1 . Biographical Notes Matëj Capek, who later adopted the literary name K. M. Capek- Chod, was born in Doma21ice in February 1860. His father, Jan Czapek, taught draughtsmanship, architecture and mathematics at the Unterrealschule in DomaBlice. He died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-four. Although Capek was only six years old at the time of his father's death, he retained a vivid impression of the man.i He was physically very strong: Capek states that he could lift a billiard table on his back.^ According to all accounts, Capek inherited this physical strength from his father. Czapek may have fostered an appreciation of the eccentric in his son. As well as the students, whom Czapek took on as boarders, there were also pets living in the cottage: a dog, a cat, a cockerel, a drake and a canary. Czapek had the habit of breakfasting at the table with all his pets.^ In 1924, writing in his journal, Capek recalls with amazement that his father, in a feverish state on his deathbed, had called his son to his side and asked him - to scratch his chest.* Capek's mother, Josefa née Jakubse, was the daughter of a well-heeled haberdasher (tkaniCkâf)J After her husband's death, the family lived in straightened financial circumstances.* She died in January 1912.^ Matëj Capek had two ^See the draft of a feuilleton Capek wrote about his father: Papers: Karel Matëj Capek-Chod; manuscript memoirs, no date; Pamâtnik nârodniho pisemnictvi (hereafter, PNP). ^Ibid. ^Ibid. See also the account of the same story in: Frantisek Pra2âk, 'Zvifâtka', Pod kîfidly domova, Ostrava and Prague, 1948, pp. 129-35. ^Capek comments: 'Do dneska mâm ve spiCkâch prstû pocit ledovosti jeho'. Papers: Capek-Chod; journal fragments, 1 April - 14 May 1924; see the entry on 20 April 1924; PNP. ^Capek-Chod; manuscript memoirs, no date; PNP *Josef âach, K. M. dapek-Chod, Doma21ice, 1949, p. 13. ^Papers: Capek-Chod; letter from Jan Hromâdka to Capek-Chod, 24 January 1912; PNP. According to his sister, Capek was a devoted son. Sach, K. M. dapek-Chod, p. 90. brothers, Jan and Vâclav, and a sister Marie. His younger brother Jan became a priest;* he died in 1892.* Vâclav trained as a maltster, but was employed as a post-office clerk. Capek studied at the grammar school in DomaBlice from 1871 to 1879. He later facetiously claimed that he took up a career as a writer because of the poor grade for Czech language he had received in the school-leaving exam;“ he received a bare pass (dostateCnÿ) for all subjects except physics and religion, for which he received a higher grade (dobry).^ Although he did not excel at school, he taught himself French and pursued independent study of German.In 1879, he matriculated at the law faculty of the Charles-Ferdinand University.^ He enrolled as an external student at the medical faculty in Prague; according to his sister, Capek also often visited hospitals as a student and was present at many autopsies.^ He supported himself by giving private tuition and lodged with a cobbler on the Kampa island.^ Capek did not complete his law degree, but left the city suddenly *Frantisek Tvrdoft, 'K. M. Capek-Chod a moravsky nârodopis', deskf lid, 45 (1958), 5, p.