O narastaniu numinosum w powieściach Doroty Terakowskiej

Abstract

Works by Terakowska depict a hero confronting the world, in the course of a journey which is so characteristic for the anxieties of adolescence and whose main purpose is to face the unknown. Rudolf Otto claims that numinosum is certainly something that is unknown, impossible to define, yet it may be investigated. The way to explore the Unknown will involve examining the structural elements of the numinous experience, i.e. mysterium tremendum et fascinans, mirum, maiestaticum and augustum; in novels which will become the field of research. It is a rule that a young traveller discovering the principles governing the world and acquiring life experience will always have an insight into the numinous feeling. Human endeavours for many years have included attempts to understand the mystery of the Unknown and, by this means, to explain the sources of existential fears pervading each human being.