Bajky a podpovídky – Čapek Karel (2023)

Čapek's short prose, in which he allows surprising speakers to voice their thoughts, such as excrement, a tree stump, a bedbug, or a fly, mocks the pompous seriousness of many of our statements. The small anecdotes, from which the sting of absurdity peeks through, express the author's fears of the dehumanization of life and the loss of genuine interest in other people. Čapek ironizes the attempt of power to subordinate society to a mechanized order and elevates the individual who can make independent decisions in a complicated world. Here too, we admire the author's linguistic mastery, such as the expressive fireworks in The Inventor, where Čapek created around forty new, non-existent words that we perceive as familiar, even though they are his neologisms. In the present day, characterized again by the chasm between insincere words and ominous deeds, we appreciate the consistent moral message of Čapek's prose. An individual cannot be absolved of responsibility for social evil, not even by their fear. The attitude of human sheep is ironized: 'Let them kill me, as long as they lead me.' And elsewhere: 'So much hatred, dear God! What has happened to people! Everything must have changed overnight... Mr. Varga mournfully recalled his widowhood. If only the late wife were alive – she might not have changed?'