O micie uroczej Italii i przystojnego Włocha w najnowszych polskich powieściach romansowych

Abstract

The article aims at explaining the phenomenon of mass interest in Italy as a setting for contemporary Polish romance novels. In order to understand said phenomenon, the author analyzes three romance novels published within the last decade. The article is divided into three parts corresponding to aspects of the analyzed phenomenon: representation of the space of Italy, representations of the Italian men and descriptions of changes occurring in female characters due to their stay in Italy. The analysis, conducted with the use of Barthes’ concept of myth, results in detailed description of elements of Italian myth and concepts related to it.