The polyphonic principle in the novelistic thinking of Olga Tokarczuk

Abstract This study explores the influence of the musical principle of polyphony in the novelistic thinking of the Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, with a particular focus on the structure of her novel Primeval and Other Times . This principle is manifested in various facets of the novels’ composition, their characters and their themes. In the introductory part of this text, I apply the concept of intermediality to show how the polyphonic principle straddles the boundary-line between music and literature. As in music, also in literature the polyphonic principle is rooted in the principle of plurality: there is no single truth, no single perspective or way of looking at things, and each thought always exists in counterpoint with another thought. This creates a genuine multiplicity of voices each with equal status, which may exist in various relationships with each other (contrast, mirroring, divergence, complementing, etc.), though none of them represents a definitive truth. The main focus in this study is on the novel Primeval and Other Times . When analyzing it, I apply the same approach as could be used for a complex polyphonic structure—specifically, a four-voice fugue with four clearly defined themes: space, time, God, and people. I trace how each of these themes is gradually developed through an elaborate counterpoint: (space: time, space: God, space: people, etc.), and I also set out to present a synthesis—because each voice (theme), despite its independence and equality of status, forms an integral part of the whole, contributing to the text’s meaning-making.