Kinga Matuszko

The article analyses the creations of masculinity in young adult stories about witches. The following novels were analysed: Extasia by Claire Legrand, The Year of Witching by Alexis Henderson and the duology These Witches Don't Burn, This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling, and the TV series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. It was pointed out that in the discussed texts, on the one hand, we are dealing with a ”typical” representation of men, i.e. hegemonic, patriarchal, oppressive masculinity – heroes of this type are either fanatical religious leaders or witch hunters. On the other hand, these stories often present a ”new” model of a man – a feminist ally of women who wants to destroy the patriarchal order and build a new equality reality.

The article analyzes the pseudo-feminist ways of creating the heroines of contemporary retel- lings. The subject of reflection was the novel Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar, which is a reinterpretation of the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King E.T.A. Hoffmann. It was poin- ted out that the authoresses, by reinterpreting classic stories, want to participate in contemporary discourses that postulate acceptance of various differences, multiplicity and equality of worldviews. For this purpose, they introduce various refractions into their novels, e.g. they try to regain female characters, emphasizing their active role in the plot. At the same time, they try to emphasize their features commonly understood as feminist, falling into the opposite phenomenon – pseudofeminism. This is particularly visible in measures such as demonizing men (e.g. lack of positive male characters, showing everyone as bad or weak) and caricatured emphasis on female strength and independence.

The aim of the article is to analyze refraction in selected herstory publications for children, presenting the biographies of famous female figures. The subject of reflection is: Stories for Kids Who Dare to Be Different: True Tales of Amazing People Who Stood Up and Stood Out by Ben Brooks, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women vol. I and vol. II by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World and Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst. The aim of this type of literature is to introduce unknown or less known historical female figures and to create new role models for children. However, the article points out that the authors of the discussed publications not only create too one-sided, simplified images of the heroines, ignoring their difficulties, mistakes and related controversies, but also often neglect other, private aspects of their lives in favor of talking about their careers and striving for power and wealth. In addition, in the books discussed there is an underutilization or only partial use of the potential hidden in the complicated and sometimes only partially recognized biographies of women. The writers selectively treat the biographies of ambiguous or controversial characters.

The aim of the article is to trace the influence of folklore and Celtic mythology in YA fantasy prose and to examine how they are incorporated in selected works, such as  Juliet  Marillier’s  The  Sevenwaters  Trilogy  (1999–2001),  Maggie  Stiefvater’s  The Raven  Cycle  (2012–2016)  and  her  novel  The  Scorpio  Races  (2011),  Melissa  Marr’s  series Wicked Lovely (2007–2011), Rebecca Ross’s novel A River Enchanted (2022), and the universes created by Cassandra Clare in her cycles The Mortal Instruments (2007–2014) and The Dark Artifices (2016–2018), and by Sarah J. Maas in her series Throne of Glass (2012–2018), A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015–2021), and Crescent City (2020–2024). The focus of the analysis is primarily on the depiction of the fairy, the most popular character from Celtic folklore in pop culture, and to a lesser extent, other aspects of beliefs and customs from this cultural sphere. The authoress points  out  that  while  not  all  writers  have  fully  used  their  potential,  these  motifs  offer  an  interesting  and  inspiring  array  of  meanings  and  symbols.  They  serve  as  a diverse and alternative resource for authors seeking to craft new narratives that exploit mythologies and beliefs of (not only) European pre-Christian communities and address themes that remain relevant today.

The article analyses the changes made in adaptations of comic books compared to the original, using the examples of the Netflix TV shows: Sandman and Wednesday. These reflections have their origin in cultural translation and are related to issues important to contemporary (pop) culture, such as: character creation, representation of sexual and ethnic minorities, and the role and position of women in American society. The author examines the types of modifications introduced in intersemiotic and intralingual translations and indicates their possible sources (social need and/or pressure from external institutions).

The subject of the article is a reinterpretation of the character of Lilith in Radek Rak's novel debut – Kocham cię, Lilith. The author points out the popularity of the figure of the first woman in (pop)culture and refers to her biblical (apocryphal) sources to then describe her pseudo-feminist role in Rak's novel. The article also touches upon the question of the “liberation” of the first woman: the components of Lilith's literary image that make up her apparent independence from the men who caused her downfall are highlighted. The topic of gender stereotyping in the work was also discussed.

The aim of the considerations undertaken in this work was to trace how Radek Rak uses fantasy in his proses ("Kocham cię, Lilith", "Puste niebo", "Baśń o wężowym sercu albo wtóre słowo o Jakóbie Szeli") to create novel worlds, how he creates them and on what principles based, as well as what (anti) values dominate in them. Moreover, an attempt was made to verify the originality of Rak’s novels against the background of the genre to which his work fits. Different research methods were used to analyze each prose, including: feminist criticism, ecocriticism and post-dependence studies. Such a multi-faceted approach highlights the heterogeneity of the writer's work, but also shows the relevance of fantasy as a genre and the need for it to comment on the contemporary media and social discourse.


Celem podjętych w pracy rozważań było prześledzenie, jak Radek Rak wyzyskuje w swoich utworach ("Kocham cię, Lilith", "Pustym niebie", "Baśni o wężowym sercu albo wtórym słowie o Jakóbie Szeli") fantastykę do kreowania powieściowych światów, w jaki sposób je tworzy i na jakich zasadach opiera, a także jakie (anty)wartości w nich dominują. Ponadto dokonano próby weryfikacji oryginalności utworów Raka na tle gatunku, w który jego twórczość się wpisuje. Do analizy każdej z próz wykorzystano inne metody badawcze: m.in. krytykę feministyczną, ekokrytykę czy studia postzależnościowe. Takie wieloaspektowe ujęcie podkreśla niejednorodność twórczości dębickiego pisarza, ale i ukazuje aktualność fantastyki jako gatunku i potrzebę komentowania przez nią współczesnego dyskursu medialno-społecznego.