MISTIFS OF UNTAMABLE SPIRIT. TYPOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF CHARACTERS IN SHORT STORIES BY KOVAČIĆ

U svojim pripovijestima, kao i u romanima, Ante Kovačić je iznio zanimljivu galeriju raznolikih književnih likova i to na umjetnički vrijedan način, literarno ostvarivši niz portreta oformljenih i originalnih životnih osobnosti. Mnogi Kovačićevi literarni junaci postali su karakterološki stereotipi i paradigmatični književni likovi hrvatske književnosti zadnjih decenija devetnaestoga stoljeća. Moguće je razlikovati dvije temeljne shematizirane skupine likova Kovačićevih pripovijesti; s jedne strane, to su obični, mirni ljudi, sudionici uspavanog života, kakve susrećemo svakodnevno, a s druge, to su čudaci neukrotiva duha, skloni neobičnim, nesvakidašnjim situacijama. Jedne i druge Kovačić donosi nenadmašnim plastičnim opisima, neizvještačeno, razotkrivajući njihov duhovni svijet, tipične geste, njihove ćudoredne poglede, uzvišene i/ili niske, stvarno, kako i jest u životu, i upravo tom uvjerljivošću izaziva pozornost čitatelja. Likovi žena u njegovim prozama hipersenzibilne su osobe, naglašene putenosti, često romantičarski predočene. Žena je kod Kovačića u pravilu simbol udesa i sudbine glavnih junaka. Lik fatalne žene kojeg Kovačić koristi u Baruničinoj ljubavi (Sofija Grefštajn) susreće se i u pripovijesti "Zagorski čudak" u liku junakinje Ive, a svoju punu literarnu oblikovanost dobit će kroz fascinantan i romantičan lik Laure u piščevu najboljem romanu U registraturi. U svojoj raspravi "Čitajući Kovačića", godine 1940., Barac uočava da je Kovačić u svojim djelima, pored osebujnih i uvjerljivih likova seljaka, đaka-prosjaka, intelektualaca, itd., stvorio osobit tip karakterističan za svako društvo i za sva vremena a to je, kako ga Barac naziva, tip poluinteligenta. Jedan od najuspješnijih takvih Kovačićevih "puluinteligenata" je lik ladanjskog gospodina vlastelina Pepa upripovijesti "Ladanjska sekta". S pravom se može reći da je za Kovačićev pripovjedački rad tipično unošenje autobiografskih elementa u književna djela. S druge strane, iskustva što ih je Kovačić stekao pišući i objavljujući brojne satirične, pa i sarkastične proze u kojima je kreirao prepoznatljive likove preko kojih izravno dolazi u brojne konfliktne situacije sa svojim suvremenicima, zasigurno su pripomogla u oblikovanju Ante Kovačića kao zrelog i samopouzdanog pripovjedača.In his short stories, as well as in his novels, Ante Kovačić displays an interesting gallery of characters in an artistically valuable manner, thus creating an array of strongly formed portraits of characters with distinctive and original traits. Many of his heroes became stereotypical and paradigmatic characters of Croatian literature in the last decade of the 19th century. Two basic schematic groups of characters can be distinguished in Kovačić\u27s short stories; on the one hand,they are ordinary, quiet people living a dormant life, the kind of people one meets every day; on the other hand, they are misfits of untamable spirit prone to unusual and extraordinary experiences. Kovačić gives unrivaled, vivid descriptions of both groups of characters, revealing their spiritual world, typical gestures, their morals, good and/or bad, and he does it realistically, the way they really are, and it is this persuasiveness that captures the reader\u27s attention. Female characters in his prose are hypersensitive individuals of extreme sensuality, often portrayed in a romantic way. As a rule, woman in Kovačić is a symbol of the fate of the main characters. The character of the femme fatale such as Sofija Grefštajn in Baruničina ljubav (The Baroness\u27 Romance) can also be found in the short story "Zagorski čudak" (A Misfit of Zagorje), in the character of the heroine Iva, and it finally assumes its full literary shape in the fascinating and romantic character of Laura in the writer\u27s best novel titled "U registraturi" (In the Registry Office). In his treatise "Čitajući Kovačića" (Reading Kovačić), Antun Barac points out that Kovačić, along with the idiosyncratic and convincing characters of peasants, poor students intellectuals and others, also created a universal type of chraracter for every society and for all time, which he calls"semi-intellectual". One of the most successful portrayals of such a "semi-intellectual" is the character of the country squire Pepe in Ladanjska sekta (The Country Sect). It is right to say that it is typical of Kovačić to include autobiographical elements in his works. On the other hand, the experience which Kovačić gained writing and publishing a number of satirical and even sarcastic pieces, where he created recognizable characters but which involved him in a lot of conflict with his contemporaries, certainly halped him to become a confident, mature writer