| dc.description.abstract | The article consists of three parts, each focusing on a different aspect of
Michael Ende’s biography and works. The first part of the paper analyzes the
reception of Michael Ende’s children’s literature in Poland. In the second part,
Angela Bajorek and Małgorzata Chrobak present a profile of the author of The
Neverending Story, which they base on his biographies (including Boccarius,
Hocke, Dankert), research from the fields of history and literary criticism (by
Hans-Heino Ewers, Roman Hocke, Thomas Kraft, and others), and interviews
from the German and Polish press.
The authors focus mainly on Ende’s childhood experiences. Using
a psycho-critical
approach, they analyze the influence his father, the painter
Edgar Ende, and Ende’s school education during the Nazi regime in Germany
had on the writer’s personality.
The third thematic module of the article discusses the notion of “tenderness”
(mentioned in the title), which was introduced in the field of literary studies
by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk. The authors suggest that in addition
to his excellent writer’s skills, such as the ability to mix different genres (a novel
with a fairy tale and a parable), to create moving, artistic visions of fantasy
worlds, the great advantage of Ende’s work is his anthropological tenderness.
In his most important works, Momo and The Neverending Story, the German
writer shows his appreciation for the simplest forms of social contact,
which play an important role in the cultural education of a child, such as storytelling
and verbal skills, motor skills, direct contact with another person, and
intimate gestures and words expressing respect and responsibility for oneself
and others. | en |
