Po smyslu Máchova Kata

This article provides the first comprehensive interpretation of the surviving texts and fragments of Kat, the unfinished series of stories by Karel Hynek Mácha (1810–1836). It combines known textological facts with an interpretation of semiotic aspects of the individual texts. It thus brings up to date our knowledge of Mácha’s conception of Czech history. Apart from purely Romantic themes and motifs, which link all parts of the series (and not just its first, Křivoklad – the only one to be published) with his later works (particularly Máj and Cikány), these texts also contain Mácha’s criticism of the policies of Wenceslas IV, King of Bohemia (d. 1419), which led to the Hussite movement and then, in consequence, the end of Czech sovereignty, a state of affairs that lasted to Mácha’s days. This unified interpretation of the Kat series also presents strong arguments supporting Mácha’s authorship of its unpublished fragments and outlines, which had previously been questioned (particularly by Oldřich Králík).