This article presents Barbara Klicka’s novel Zdrój as an example of an illness narrative.
The novel is discussed in the context of both other examples of the genre and the theoretical works devoted to the topic. The fact she is experiencing illness determines the protagonist’s existence and her perception of the world. It influences her emotions. As a hypersensitive individual, she is able
to recognise the mechanisms of oppression embedded in the process of treatment, such as the objectification of patients. The narrator’s status is peculiar – she is not losing the battle with her illness, neither is she recovering. She is a “wounded storyteller,” remaining in a liminal state. Illness is one of the essential elements of the protagonist’s identity, and not simply the theme of her story but rather a condition without which the story would not exist.
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