Barbara Toporska Reads Gombrowicz

Abstract

This article analyzes Barbara Toporska’s review of Witold Gombrowicz’s novel Pornography, published in 1961, concurrently with Gombrowicz’s awarding of the „Kultura” literary prize. The author examines how Toporska uses hypothetical-deductive logic to interpret four main „propositions” in Gombrowicz’s novel: interpersonal relationships, the formation of consciousness, generational dynamics, and the crisis of values and religion. The article compares Toporska’s interpretations with later analyses by Jerzy Jarzębski and Maria Janion, particularly in the context of the war’s impact on morality and the disintegration of culture. The article also explores the complex literary relationship between Gombrowicz and Józef Mackiewicz, suggesting that Toporska’s review can be read as a partial reading of Gombrowicz through the lens of Mackiewicz’s thought, and addresses Gombrowicz’s objections to Toporska’s review.