Autobiography and Cankar’s novel New life

Abstract

Cankarjevo moderno razumevanje avtobiografskosti je v razpravi ponudilo možnost razlage s pomočjo koncepta doživljenosti. V Cankarjevih pripovednih delih, tudi v romanu Novo življenje (1908), se namreč vprašanje objektivnosti in subjektivnosti na inovativen način stika z deležem avtobiografskosti – avtor, pripovedovalec ali lik ne zastavljajo več klasičnega pozitivističnega vprašanja o preverljivosti biografskih podatkov, pač pa poudarjajo pomen doživljenosti, kar je postalo izhodiščna misel v povezavi s pripovedjo šele kasneje, v t. i. naravni naratologiji Monike Fludernik. Doživljenost oziroma izkustvenost je v Cankarjevih pripovedih, tudi v romanu Novo življenje, izenačena z odkritosrčnostjo, ki zaradi fingiranega položaja pričanja ali izpovedi mestoma deluje kot provokacija. Poleg doživljenosti, odkritosrčnosti in provokativnosti je v obravnavanem romanu prisotna tudi avtorefleksivnost, ki jo začrtata avtotematskost in podoben profil glavnega lika, to je Antona Grivarja.

In the discussion, Cankar’s modern understanding of autobiography offered the possibility of explanation with the help of the concept of experientiality. In Cankar’s narrative works, including the novel New Life (1908), the question of objectivity and subjectivity comes into contact with the share of autobiography in an innovative way – the author, narrator or character no longer asks the classic positivist question about the verifiability of biographical data, but emphasises the importance of experientiality, which became the starting point in connection with the narrative only later, in so-called natural narratology by Monika Fludernik. In Cankar’s narratives, including in the novel New Life, the experientiality is equated with frankness, which acts as a provocation in places due to the fake position of testimony or confession. In addition to experientiality, frankness and provocativeness, the novel in question also has self-reflexivity, which is outlined by the auto-thematic nature and the similar profile of the main character, that is, Anton Grivar.