Memory in the Face of Transience and Death: Reflections on Andrzej Stasiuk’s "Grochów"

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show how the motifs of death, transience and affective memory function in the volume of short stories Grochów by Andrzej Stasiuk. By showing examples from all four stories included in the collection, I try to recreate the nostalgic, reminiscent, and sometimes also dark atmosphere of the writer’s autobiographical work. I also recall the assumptions of the so-called narrative medicine, a new trend created at the intersection of the humanities and medical sciences, striving to strengthen the subjectivity and autonomy of the sick and dying person. In my work, I strive to reach a conclusion pointing to the important role of memory as a universal carrier of memories that allows for maintaining a permanent trace of human existence.