Małgorzata Trebisz
THE CONTEMPORARY WEST EUROPEAN NOVEL OF SUCCESS
Summary
The paper on the contemporary success novel in Western Europe concentrates on the definition of the popular form of fiction dealing with the achievement of success and which is not to be confused with a successful novel. The theoretical-critical discussion is preceded by a report on the latest research in the subject. The dominating theme in this area of literary criticism is the American myth. The European success has as yet be defined.
The following theoretical part of the paper concentrates on the evolution of the romance/novel and on the structural description of the popular genre of the success novel which enjoys great public demand today. The historical antecedent most widely discussed is the romance, this genre which seems to determine the modern form most clearly. The romance reemerges in the structural description of the novel of action with a prevailingly testing plot in the cource of which the sympathetic protagonist is exposed to a sequel of trials before his aim is achieved. This seems the dominant pattern of the modern popular novel of success.
This pattern is further analyzed in respect to the literary strategies which facilitate a wide reception of the text. Also on this occasion the sociological and psychological factors contributing to the popularity of this kind of consumer literature are enumerated.
Finally, a range of texts written in the recent years in Western Europe is discussed, pointing to certain regularities in theme and treatment of the narrative material.
The latest development described is the self-conscious novell of success, which is based on a metafictional treatment of the already established convention of the novel of success, resulting in parody, grotesque and satire.