Why We Read Fantasy. Deliberations on Truth on the Example of Jacek Dukaj's Fiction

Abstract

The article presents social functions of various types of fantasy with special emphasis on science fiction on the example of Jacek Dukaj's texts. In her deliberations the author first of all focuses on the pragmatic dimension of the truth of the very fantasy literature and the truth whose carrier the text is. The first of the mentioned aspects is realized when the text gives the recipient a feeling of being rooted in the cultural tradition, stabilizes his sense of identity, and is a reply to his need of safety and esthetic pleasure. The latter one, in turn, is revealed on the level of literary imaging when the fictitious worlds created by the author illustrate the contemporary man's problems, visualize his latent fears, and at the same time show how they can be coped with.