The classic of Czech literature Karel Čapek is known not only for his socio-philosophical works, but also for his fantastic stories. The author gained real fame after the publication of a play about robots: he was the first to introduce this term, coined by his brother, into circulation. The acuteness of social problems inherent in Chapek's work puts him on a par with prominent fighters against the fascist plague.
From the biography of Chapek
Karel Chapek was born on January 9, 1890 in Male Svatonevice, Czech Republic. His father worked as a doctor. Czapek's mother was a collector of Czech folklore. The elder brother, Josef, dabbled in literature and painting. The elder sister Gelena also looked for ways for herself in literature. The atmosphere in the family contributed to the formation of the talent of the future writer.
From a young age, Chapek was surrounded by simple artisans and farmers. Behind the shoulders of the future classic of Czech literature is the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Prague. He began to publish in 1907. Chapek wrote a number of stories in collaboration with his brother.
The creative path of the Czech writer
The events of the First World War left an imprint on the creative searches of the writer. She was intensely looking for landmarks, trying to understand the contradictions of social life. However, he was not a revolutionary, leaning more towards humanism.
In the 1920s, Chapek wrote travel essays: "Letters from Italy", "Letters from England". Already at that time, Czapek's works were distinguished by lyrical humor and concreteness of images.
Subsequently, bourgeois - democratic illusions intensified in the mind of the writer. Chapek's work is entering a period of crisis. For a while, he puts political issues aside and works on humorous works, preferring to design works in small genres. Examples: Stories from One Pocket and Stories from Another Pocket, created in 1932. During the same period, Czapek turned to biblical topics. In the book Apocrypha (1932), he reinterprets religious philosophy.
In 1920, Chapek met the actress and writer Olga Shainpflyugova. In 1935 she became his wife.
Karel Czapek: on guard of humanistic ideals
In the early 1930s, social contradictions intensified in the world. Czapek responds to the changes in social life with the famous book "War with the Salamanders" (1936). This is a kind of protest against the violation of human relations. The work is saturated with caustic satire on the life of bourgeois society. The author attacks the philosophy and ideology of fascism, which begins to march across Europe. This book is considered to be the pinnacle of the work of the Czech writer.
The same anti-fascist orientation is characteristic of other works by Czapek; these notes determined the content of the drama "White Disease" (1937), the play "Mother" (1938), the story "The First Rescue" (1937).
Critical attacks on fascism became the reason for the persecution to which Chapek was subjected by the reactionary elements. The writer's health deteriorated, bringing his death closer. Chapek died in 1938.
The work of the Czech writer has had a significant impact on the formation of modern social fiction. Chapek's merits were appreciated by descendants: a memorial museum and a country house-museum were created in his homeland.
