Body and Gnosis in Selected Works of Stanisław Lem

Abstract

The article shows the convergence of some motifs in Stanisław Lem’s work on the body with some approaches to body in Gnosticism. The following works were discussed: The Cyberiad, Fables for Robots, The Star Diaries, Inspection at the Scene of the Crime and The Mask. In the analyzed works, the theme of the human body appears in the eyes of Aliens and robots. It is perceived as disgusting – just like human habits. This theme coincides with the Gnostic hostility towards the body. The counterparts of the malicious Demiurge in Gnostic myths are in Lem’s works Bann and Pugg, and other inept creators. Lem portrays the human body as imperfect and the product of chance, even a mistake or a freak of nature, which corresponds to the Gnostic thesis that man lives in the world as a result of a mistake or a catastrophe in the Pleroma. In Lem’s works there is also a negative assessment of sexuality, as in gnosticism. Finally, an important element of Gnosticism is a sense of alienation in the world – this theme is present in The Mask. Finally, an attempt is made to explain the convergence between the Lem’s and the Gnostic views of the body.