Jiří Chalupa – Los misterios de las transiciones embrujadas
Jiří Chalupa
Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity, Ostrava, Česká republika
Abstract
The Mysteries of Enchanted Transitions. The Pitfalls of Czech and Spanish Democratization Seen Through the Parodic Prose of Pavel Kohout and Eduardo Mendoza
This article offers a comparative analysis of the parodic prose of Pavel Kohout and Eduardo Mendoza, focusing on their literary representations of the Czech and Spanish democratic transitions. The study aims to examine how irony and parody function as critical strategies in narrating periods of profound political and social transformation. Methodologically, the paper combines close textual reading with theoretical perspectives drawn from Linda Hutcheon’s concept of postmodern parody, Gérard Genette’s narratology, and Hayden White’s reflections on the narrative nature of historiography. Particular attention is paid to the role of marginal narrators and displaced focalization in shaping a perspective that destabilizes dominant interpretations of historical change. The analysis demonstrates that, in both authors, parody does not lead to nihilistic negation but rather operates as an ethical and epistemological device that resists ideological simplification. By exposing contradictions, ambiguities, and dissonances within the processes of democratization, Kohout and Mendoza portray the “enchanted transitions” as complex and unresolved historical experiences. Ultimately, irony emerges as a mode of critical lucidity that keeps the meaning of these transformations open and contestable.
Keywords: parody; irony; democratic transition; postmodern narrative
