In the World of References: About Reading Madame by Antoni Libera

Abstract

The article is an attempt to identify and explain the various types of references presented in Madame by Antoni Libera, as well as reflections about the model of novel proposed by this writer. The subject is, on the one hand, the theoretican’s opinions about the phenomenon of intertextuality and, on the other, the reader’s and critic’s reactions to the book which requires involved reading. A main tool used by authorness is Gérard Genette’s transtextological typology. This conception raises the doubts of many researchers due to the separation of paratexuality and metatextuality, but in the context of multilevel dialogue in Libera’s book seems to be extremely helpful and allows to recognize the network of textual references which are important to the recipient of the novel. Furthermore, in the discussion about the intertextuality or transtextuality, the role of intersemiotic references – forgotten by Genette – is underlined.