« Metaphysical Yearning – a Czech Tradition »
L’appétence métaphysique, une tradition tchèque
Résumé
This paper intends to give the wide panorama of alternative spirituality
as a basic feature of modern Czech culture. Although the image of Czechia as the
most dechristianized country in Europe is very popular, this must be considered
a stereotype. Despite the fact that the secularization of Czech society and culture has
been a long-term process, the metaphysical thirst which could be manifested in the
culture has not been eradicated. Instead, it has been redirected towards new forms
of searching for transcendence. A fundamental episode of this reflection on religiosity
took place in around 1900, when opportunities for spirituality beyond confession
(any confession, not only the Catholic one) were considered and the role of Churches
was questioned. It was also the time when original experiments were performed
by artists in order to synthesize different spiritual ideas (e.g. “mystic syncretism”
by František Bílek). The author of this article argues that there is an «underground
river» of Catholicism in the relationship one can have with the sacred in everyday
life. Analyzing different examples of literary works, he shows how Czech writers are
rooted in spiritual tradition, even those who are not associated with this idea (e.g.
Karel Čapek). Other examples of «classic» Czech authors are also given in the text
that show how sensitive they were to spirituality and transcendence. Although such
writers as Vítěslav Nezval reduced or marginalized spirituality, this tendency was
balanced by artists who manifested their metaphysical needs (e.g. Vladimír Holan
and his «metaphysical existentialism»). Different forms of spiritual experiences can
be observed throughout the 20th century in Czech literature and they find echoes in
the works of authors of the neo-avant-garde, for example in the post-baroque writing
of Bohumil Hrabal.