Czarnoksiężnik z dolarowej krainy, czyli rzecz o interpretacji źródeł

Abstrakt

The Wizard from the Land of the Dollar, or on the Interpretation of Sources

(Summary)

A summary of a debate conducted in the 1970s–1990s and relating to an allegorical interpretation of L.F. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Created in 1964, this interpretation proclaimed that The Wizard could be an expanded parabola of a dispute preceding the election held in the U.S. in 1896 and dealing with the need for the existence of the silver dollar, supporting both its retention in circulation and William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate who promoted this view. Although the notion in question was rather universally accepted among researchers and widely developed by their successors, it proved to be totally unfounded in sources, especially within the context of a biography of the book’s author. Nonetheless, it still resounds in serious scientific publications.