New Femininity in "Insatiability" and the Resulting Misunderstandings

Abstract

In the works of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz the clear influence of Young Poland’s misogyny can be discerned. Nonetheless, Witkacy’s works display a significant change in the portrayal of the female characters, especially in comparison to the literary output of his predecessors. The artist deconstructed the modernist motif of femme fatale in his novel Insatiability. The figures of Irina Wsiewołodowna Ticonderoga and Persy Zwierżontkowska go beyond the stereotype of deceptive woman, whose goal is her own delight and humiliation of her lover. The complex image of these characters is primarily based on the detailed description of their inner life. Female characters in Insatiability do not strive to make the man happy or to destroy him, but they want to fulfill their own needs – their decisions and actions are the results of the metaphysical insatiability. In the face of this fundamental human feeling gender differences do not matter much. The image of Irina and Persy is related to the misogynistic fears of the beginning of the 20th century, but it also shows a modern vision of femininity which does not need a male point of reference and shows independent activity.