G.K. CHESTERTON’S GAMES WITH IDENTITIES

Ewa Kujawska-Lis

Instytut Neofilologii Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski

Abstract

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, the author of, amongst others, the Father Brown detective stories is generally analysed, with some exceptions, by Polish criticism in terms of ideology and Catholi- cism. His literary technique is treated with less attention, though his artistic output as such is perhaps valued even more in Poland than in England. This article attempts to fill in the gap by examining the ways in which Chesterton structures some of his stories and the way he introduces and inserts elements of Catholic doctrine into them. This article investigates the recurring motif of various identities for the same character both in selected stories and within the framework of the whole Father Brown cycle. Chesterton’s characters epitomise the dichotomy of human nature: one and the same character may transition from an honest person into a criminal and vice versa. The author also shows the implications of leading a double life and, of course, employs the notion of a double identity as a vehicle for committing a crime.

Keywords:

detective story, Chesterton, identity, intertextuality, Catholicism