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Postcolonial reflections on Mahasweta Devi's works
Zikmundová, Tereza ; Hříbek, Martin (advisor) ; Špicová, Zuzana (referee)
The ambition of this text is to introduce a bengali author Mahasweta Debi whose prose often depicts subaltern and marginalized and as well as the context of academic writings she tends to appear in. Specifically texts of the Subaltern study collective, a neomarxist academic project. Therefore postcolonial critique and it's crucial texts will be discussed. Subsequently, three modern bengali literary texts representing adivasi characters will be analyzed. Furthermore by discussing relevant literature we will get a firmer understanding of the way a discourse of the aboriginal other made it's way into bengali literary milieu. The aim is to answer the question whether one can in fact reflect productively on Mahasweta Debi's work through reading of postcolonial theory and then apply it onto other modern bengali literary texts.
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The concept of the ideal son in the funeral rituals of classical Hinduism
Faixová, Jaqueline ; Štipl, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Špicová, Zuzana (referee)
The role of the son is one of the key components in the society of classical Hinduism. It is the firstborn son who determines the fate of the whole family not only during their life, but also after it. The transition to the afterlife is greatly influenced by the oldest offspring, it is how he carries out mortuary rituals, the way he lives and acts that determines what realm will the deceased ancestor reach. Rites of passage, so called samskaras and the correct performance of them should cause the individual, in this case the oldest son, to carry out a good life in accordance with dharma, but the rites themself are not sufficient. In addition, there are several requirements that an ideal son has to meet. This thesis aims to present the role of the son in the funeral rituals of classical Hinduism, to examine how far this role is identical across the sources and to what extent it is coherent and where it differs. As for the puranic tradition we will be examining, Garuda Purana Saroddhara and Garuda Purana, and for the shastra tradition a Manavadharmashastra will be studied. The first chapter will introduce the idea of the firstborn son and his role in classical Hinduism. In the following chapters this role will be presented as it is seen by the individual texts and finally a comparison between the...
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The Image of India in the Czech Literature
Špicová, Zuzana ; Štipl, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Hříbek, Martin (referee)
(in English): This thesis deals with the image of India in Czech literature. The first part defines the basic concepts: imagology, autoimage and heteroimage, and outlines the ways in which European literature and culture created the images of India, dividing them into the British, French, German, and lastly the Czech. The following parts present the images created in Czech literature in two lines: the first are the images of the real India, i.e. namely of its nature, primitivism, poverty, and wealth, the second line shows the conceptions of the sacred India, particulary of faith, magic, and superstition. All the images are illustrated with a number of concrete textual examples of Czech poetry and prose. The conclusion evaluates the relation of the image of self to these images of the other, and summarizes their changes from the Luxembourg era so far.
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Three stories between East and West: "Virtuous young man", "Divine lover", "Sacrifice of a child"
Špicová, Zuzana ; Vojvodík, Josef (advisor) ; Pokorný, Martin (referee)
The thesis deals with the realization of three narratives -"Virtuous Young Man", "Divine Lover", and "Sacrifice of a Child"- in diverse literatures of East and West. Basic form, characters/(arche)types, and motifs and their possible variations depending on cultural, literary, and religious/mythological setting are presented for each plot. Using historical and comparative poetics, each plot is analysed from the first extant adaptations in European and non-European literatures to the modern ones. The thesis puts an emphasis on specification and configuration of particular motifs, variations depending on the religious-mythological context, and tension between the same and different, general pattern and specific realization, type and character.
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'For Bhīṣma's Destruction': Ambā, Śikhaṇḍinī and Śikhaṇḍin in the Mahābhārata
Špicová, Zuzana ; Strnad, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Bisschop, Peter (referee) ; Brodbeck, Simon (referee)
The thesis introduces the Mahābhārata as a complex literary text - a multi-genre text and a polyphonic interpretation of a factual discourse with several competing narratives - and uses the findings and techniques of narratology, especially of rhetorical narratology, to interpret it. In the thesis, I argue that when analysing the seeming inconsistencies of this text, it is not necessary to look for the explanation on the "outside" (various unconnected authors) but that it is possible to explain them also from the "inside" of the text, using the differences in genres, as well as the knowledge, goals and subjectivity of the individual characters and narrators. These resources are often used in the communication with the audience (readers/listeners). The concrete material for this argument is the story of Ambā, Śikhaṇḍinī a Śikhaṇḍin and the way in which are the facts concerning this triune character presented, especially by Bhīṣma who claims their narrative most importantly by narrating Ambopākhyāna, an analeptic episode explaining Śikhaṇḍin's life story and his involvement in the Kurukṣetra battle: narration with a distinctive authoritativeness and subjectivity, but a doubtable narratorial reliability. I show how Bhīṣma defines Śikhaṇḍin as a woman using this episode, and thus makes him into one of...
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Alaṃkāras in the Meghadūta of Kālidāsa
Tůma, Dominik ; Štipl, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Špicová, Zuzana (referee)
The Meghadūta undoubtedly occupies a spot among the principal works of Sanskrit kāvya literature, having historica kāvya as well as with modern Sanskrit scholars. A vast body of exegetical literature has been composed to accompany the poem and Mallinātha along with Vallabhadeva could with Mallinātha's commentarial contribution while drawing upon and trying to elucidate the basic theoretical principals of alaṃkāraśāstra. Firstly, it will introduce the theory tic tropes termed alaṃkāras as presented by Daṇḍin and Bhāmaha and ūta. Subsequently, it will analyse Mallinātha's view regarding the amount of poetic ūta. We can observe a contrast between Mallinātha who is eager to find instances of double meaning, or śleṣas, and the conventional approach to Kālidāsa inherited from early Indology slanted toward orientalism and viewing Kālidāsa as some of the most iconic alaṃkāras found throughout the Meghadūta and shows to what extent Mallinātha's interpretation Sanskrit literature, poetics, kāvya, alaṃkāra, Meghadūta, Kālidāsa, śleṣa, Mallinātha, Bhāmaha, Daṇḍin
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Typical characters and motifs in Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay's fiction
Špicová, Zuzana ; Hříbek, Martin (advisor) ; Hons, Pavel (referee)
(in English): Śaratcandra Caṭṭopādhyāẏ is one of the most beloved Bengali authors, but has so far received only a very limited academic attention. The thesis briefly introduces the author's life and subsequently analyses his work using the terms and methods of contemporary narratology. Its primary goal is to contest traditional critical views of Śaratcandra as an overly emotional author for bored housewives. Śaratcandra intriguingly uses various literary devices (especially his narrators and focalisation) to enhance intimacy between the reader and the characters which finally leads to the reader's greater emotional involvement in the presented events. His usage of types of characters also innovatively combines ancient Indian types, real-life observations and western literary forms. The author juxtaposes characters in order to introduce a critique of social, religious and gender inequality, and to add an emotional argument to Īśvarcandra Vidyāsāgar's intellectual and legal endeavour. It is also possible to interpret Śaratcandra's work and the author himself - in contrast to Rabīndranāth Ṭhākur and Baṅkimcandra Caṭṭopādhyāẏ - as one of the most important modern descendants of the Mahābhārata tradition of Indian literature.
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The Image of India in the Czech Literature
Špicová, Zuzana ; Štipl, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Hříbek, Martin (referee)
(in English): This thesis deals with the image of India in Czech literature. The first part defines the basic concepts: imagology, autoimage and heteroimage, and outlines the ways in which European literature and culture created the images of India, dividing them into the British, French, German, and lastly the Czech. The following parts present the images created in Czech literature in two lines: the first are the images of the real India, i.e. namely of its nature, primitivism, poverty, and wealth, the second line shows the conceptions of the sacred India, particulary of faith, magic, and superstition. All the images are illustrated with a number of concrete textual examples of Czech poetry and prose. The conclusion evaluates the relation of the image of self to these images of the other, and summarizes their changes from the Luxembourg era so far.
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Three stories between East and West: "Virtuous young man", "Divine lover", "Sacrifice of a child"
Špicová, Zuzana ; Vojvodík, Josef (advisor) ; Pokorný, Martin (referee)
The thesis deals with the realization of three narratives -"Virtuous Young Man", "Divine Lover", and "Sacrifice of a Child"- in diverse literatures of East and West. Basic form, characters/(arche)types, and motifs and their possible variations depending on cultural, literary, and religious/mythological setting are presented for each plot. Using historical and comparative poetics, each plot is analysed from the first extant adaptations in European and non-European literatures to the modern ones. The thesis puts an emphasis on specification and configuration of particular motifs, variations depending on the religious-mythological context, and tension between the same and different, general pattern and specific realization, type and character.
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