Beyond Anthropocentrism: Functions of the Second-Person Zoonarration in the Novel Rat by Andrzej Zaniewski

This paper presents a correlation between second-person narration and the more-than-hu­man perspectivity in animal narratives. The analysis focuses on representations of “you” nar­ration Andrzej Zaniewski’s novel Rat, published for first time 1995. “Rat-centric” fiction, as Marco Caracciolo describes it, talks about various experiences title animal. Although dominant diegetic form is first-person narrative, appearing parts text told from point view turn out to be significant element non-anthropocentric perspective. Considering influence posthuman message, based research field studies contemporary nar­ratology, including, among others, Irene Kacandes’s “literary performative”, David Herman’s “double deixis” or Dominique Lestel’s “thinking with fur”. In this article, I propose dis­tinguish three functions narrative Rat: immersive, empathetic identity roles. immersive function participates adapting sensorimotor repertoire intersubjective perception non-human world. second them, function, by bonding human narratee character, opens possibility embodied co-experience verification anthropocentric norms. third, func­tion, (de)constructing rat selfhood. Findings proposed perspective zoonarration sheds new light its formal opportunities creating post­human agency, thinking, storytelling.