Literatura a przełamywanie wstydu

Abstract

The focus of the article is literary approach to the emotion of shame. My thesis is that literature can be perceived as a helpful tool for overcoming shame, because it can present most intimate human experiences in aesthetic terms, free from stereotypical moral judgments. From this perspective I distinguish between exhibitionistic tendencies on the author’s side and complementary voyeuristic impulse on the side of the reader. In this context I consider also the phenomenon of literary provocation and its function. In the next step I analyze two examples from Polish contemporary literature, a literary pregnancy diary Polka of M. Gretkowska and a gay-novel Lubiewo of M. Witkowski, which are in my opinion interesting proposals of aesthetic view on intimate but also relevant aspects of everyday life.