The aim of my thesis is a complete analysis of child characters in Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt´s tetralogy Le cycle de l´invisible. The child characters are the main protagonists of all the cycle. Therefore they the have been given the main focus in my work. In the theoretical part of my work I'm introducing the basis of the analysis of the characters in general. A treatise of the character with it´s different aspects and functions in a literary text is a part of the theoretical basis. In the subsequent analysis of individual texts I have been analyzing child characters appearing in the cycle. I have been dealing with their characteristics, their relation to the storyline and to the narrative structure of the text, to the other characters, especially adults. During my work I have been trying to reach a more general characteristic of Schmitt´s child fables and also to answer the question why the author chose children as his prose protagonists.

Cette thèse interroge le destin de Judas chez cinq écrivains : Paul Claudel (Mort deJudas), Marcel Pagnol (Judas), Jean Ferniot (Saint Judas), Armel Job (Judas le bien-aimé)et Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (L’Évangile selon Pilate). Passant du cadre général à celuiparticulier, la recherche se propose d’envisager la figure de Judas dans les transpositionsbibliques contemporaines et d’évaluer les nouvelles visions que le siècle a inventées.L’analyse comprend des approches s’appuyant sur les contributions du domaine du mythe,de l’exégèse biblique, historique, de la sociologie, de la psychanalyse. La plupart des récitscontemporains font de Judas un sujet moderne très complexe : il devient figure de l’artiste,du philosophe et de l’acteur.Les problématiques d’ordre social et politique se révèlent primordiales : dans uncontexte succédant à l’Holocauste, Judas renoue avec l’univers judaïque. Retranscrivant lemythe du Juif errant, Judas devient figure de la scission, du départ et de l’errance ; lesrelations au sein de la famille sont vivement remises en cause. La figure du traître devientaussi le support d’une parole restitutive. L’idiotie de filiation dostoïevskienne attribuée àJudas fait bon ménage avec le contexte littéraire contemporain ainsi qu’avec celuilégendaire réévalué.Constamment hésitant entre la réhabilitation de Judas proposée par Pagnol, Ferniot,Job, Schmitt et la réprobation du personnage par Claudel, le parcours propose un richeréseau construit autour de thématiques communes mais différemment évaluées. / This doctoral dissertation questions Juda's destiny in five authors: Paul Claudel(The Death of Juda), Marcel Pagnol (Juda), Jean Ferniot (Saint Juda), Armel Job (TheBeloved Juda) and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (The Gospel according to Pilate). Fromgeneral to specific, this research aims at outlining the image of Judas within thecontemporary biblical renditions and to evaluate new perspectives on it. This analysistouches upon myth, biblical and historical exegesis, sociology and psychoanalysis. Mostcontemporary stories make Juda a very complex and modern subject: he embodies theartist, the philosopher, the actor.Social and political issues prove to be crucial: in a context which follows theHolocaust, Juda reconnects with the Judaic universe. By rewriting the myth of thewandering Jew, Juda becomes the figure of the scission, of the departure and of the roving;family relationships are strongly questioned. Furthermore, the figure of the traitor becomesthe repository for a restitutive speech. The idiocy, in the Dostoievskian sense, associatedwith Judas, blends well both with the contemporary literary context as well as with thereconsidered mythical one.Constantly hesitating between Judas' redemption that Pagnol, Ferniot, Job andSchmitt adopt and the condemnation of Claudel's character, this thesis focuses on aconvoluted network built around common themes that are tackled differently.

TITLE: Picture of illness and death in contemporary German literature for children and youth (The analysis and didactic adaptation in the context of selected works of world literature) SUMMARY:Presented thesis deals with literary reflections on illness and death in contemporary German literature for children and youth. The theoretical part explains the basic concepts such as illness, death, child and developmental stages of childhood, literature and literature for children and youth. These themes are then further processed. In more detail is the work devoted to analyzing literary works with that theme. The works are examined in terms of literary aesthetic and thematic components, composition and language components. In the practical part, the work focuses on the students perception of researched topic and work with specific literary texts. The final section compares the aspects of reception on illness and death of students of Czech and Austrian schools at the age of 14 to 19 years based on questionnaires filled in by those students which were used as the main research material. KEYWORDS: illness, death, contemporary German literature for children and youth, Jutta Treiber, Sigrid Zeevaert, Petr Pohl, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, intercultural aspects

This study brings the insights of Slavoj Žižek’s Lacan-inspired approach to bear upon a series of influential 20th century plays and their engagement with what Lacan calls the Real. The plays to be explored share a focus on experiences, events or encounters which transcend, exceed, disrupt, and in some cases shatter characters’ normal, familiar realities. Examined through the lens of Žižek, these confrontations with the sublime and the fantastic reveal a crucial relation to the plays’ contemporary contexts, prompting us to “look awry” upon the dynamics of our own symbolically-regulated reality and the ever-changing and precarious nature of our relation to it. Similarly crucial is the relation of the Lacanian Real to our theatrical forms and modes of perception in the theatre. In staging “encounters with the Real,” these plays prompt us simultaneously to explore the ways in which the Real operates —and “appears” — in our own theatrical experience, ensnaring our gaze and the force of our desire. The study offers a Žižekian approach to works including Peter Shaffer’s Equus, John Mighton’s Possible Worlds, S. An-sky’s The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds, Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker, Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Enigma Variations.

This study brings the insights of Slavoj Žižek’s Lacan-inspired approach to bear upon a series of influential 20th century plays and their engagement with what Lacan calls the Real. The plays to be explored share a focus on experiences, events or encounters which transcend, exceed, disrupt, and in some cases shatter characters’ normal, familiar realities. Examined through the lens of Žižek, these confrontations with the sublime and the fantastic reveal a crucial relation to the plays’ contemporary contexts, prompting us to “look awry” upon the dynamics of our own symbolically-regulated reality and the ever-changing and precarious nature of our relation to it. Similarly crucial is the relation of the Lacanian Real to our theatrical forms and modes of perception in the theatre. In staging “encounters with the Real,” these plays prompt us simultaneously to explore the ways in which the Real operates —and “appears” — in our own theatrical experience, ensnaring our gaze and the force of our desire. The study offers a Žižekian approach to works including Peter Shaffer’s Equus, John Mighton’s Possible Worlds, S. An-sky’s The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds, Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker, Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Enigma Variations.