Analiza i Egzystencja

Facing the challenge of the Narcissus. The creative transformation on the pathway of the creator Abstract In the essay, the author determines the character of the challenge posed by Narcissus-the poet – from the poem by Cyprian Kamil Norwid entitled Narcissus. The challenge is, at the same time, addressed in the context of how the creative transformation takes place on the pathway of the creator, and – more broadly – in the philosophical esthetical perspective determined by the point of view of the creator. The creative process must be understood in the light of the fundamental distinction between the sources of creation and the creative sources. The former are mere experiences and events of the life of the artist and creator, and occasion his activity only. The latter, in turn, show new directions, possibilities, realms and horizons: which all appear on the artist’s pathway. The distinction allow the insight into, and determination of, there main momenta of the creative process, which point out three phases of the pathway of the creator. The situation described in the poem might be transposed onto esthetical categories. Narcissus might be seen as the creator, and his aquatic auto-portrait as the work of art. The creative transformation, in turn, appears to bear upon the creative process. Thus, the creator is able, after having accomplished the creative transformation in the creative mirror (the result of his pilgrimage), him himself as a new-born. Key-words: the challenge, Cyprian Norwid, the point of view of the creator, the creative transformation, the pathway of the creator, the sources of creation, the creative sources.