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THE RECEPTION OF VACLAV HAVELВ’S PLAYS IN EXILE

K. Slamova

Abstract

In my paper, I will focus on the reception of Vaclav HavelВ’s plays among Czech literary critics who lived in exile. Among others, it was Igor Hajek who analysed them in his two treatises, in a review of the collection of plays related to the character of Ferdinand Vanek. Igor Hajek (1931-1995), a Czech exile literary critic, belongs to personalities who have played a significant role in the presentation of Czech literature abroad. He lived in British emigration since 1969 and his name in Czechoslovakia was on the list of forbidden authors. His literary-minded articles published in exile were approaching an English-speaking audience, especially works by Czech forbidden authors. The paper deals with the analysis of one-act plays by Vaclav Havel, whose common denominator is the character of Ferdinand Vanek, an intellectual in opposition to the regime. Later, this character also appeared in plays by other playwrights who published in samizdat and exile: Pavel Kohout, Pavel Landovsky, and Jiri Dienstbier. Through the comparison of other Czech exile criticsВ’ perspective (Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz, Kvetoslav Chvatik, Petr Steiner), the paper also deals with generalizing interpretations of HavelВ’s plays, which outline universally valid philosophical questions.

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