An der Schwelle zwischen Stettin und Szczecin. Zur Liminalitätsproblematik in "Confinium. Szczecińska opowieść" von Krzysztof Niewrzęda

The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of liminality in "Confinium. Szczecińska opowieść" by Krzysztof Niewrzęda. The novel by the Polish writer, poet and essayist from Szczecin, who has lived in Germany since 1989, deals with an important period in the history of the city, namely the transition from the German city of Stettin, in ruins after the war, into a city where the beginnings of Polishness are starting to take shape. This phase can be called, as the title of the novel indicates, "confinium", which translated from Latin means ‘boundary’. This state of suspension between different worlds, between ‘Germanness’ and ‘Polishness’, is presented – taking recourse to the theory of liminality by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner – as a transitional (liminal) phase. With the experiences of the main character in the novel, Tadeusz, taken as an example, the main aspects of liminality are discussed, including living at the threshold between different realities, uncertainty, alienation, identity crisis, search for meaning in life and stability.