Karel Capek Writer Date of Birth: 09.01.1890 Country: Czech

Biography of Karel Čapek

Karel Čapek was a Czech writer of the 20th century, known for his works in prose and drama, particularly in the genre of science fiction. He was born on January 9, 1890, in Malé Svatoňovice, and passed away on December 25, 1938, in Prague. Čapek graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University in Prague in 1915. He began publishing his works in 1907, with a significant portion of his early stories from 1908 to 1913 being co-authored with his brother, Jiří. These stories were later included in collections such as "The Krakonoš's Garden" (1918) and "The Shining Depths" (1916).

The tragic events of World War I (1914-1918) influenced Čapek's intense search for truth, his philosophical contemplations, and his desire to uncover the contradictions of life. This period resulted in works such as the story collections "Crucifixion" (1917) and "Tormenting Stories" (1921), which were influenced by expressionism. While not directly involved in revolutionary struggles, Čapek leaned towards moral and ethical humanism. Many of his works, including the lyrical comedy "The Robber" (1920), present a juxtaposition of multiple "truths." Čapek's thinking often encompasses several possibilities while maintaining his ethical ideals.

Čapek gained worldwide recognition for his socially futuristic works, including the plays "R.U.R" (1920) about the rebellion of robots (the word "robot" was coined by Čapek), "The Makropulos Affair" (1922), and the novels "The Absolute at Large" (1922) and "Krakatit" (1924). In the early 1920s, Čapek wrote travel essays such as "Letters from Italy" (1923) and "Letters from England" (1924), which were characterized by realistic and vivid imagery, as well as lyrical humor.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Čapek became close to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, and his writing increasingly reflected bourgeois-democratic illusions. This period also saw the emergence of crisis elements in his works, such as the play co-authored with his brother, "Adam the Creator" (1927). Čapek temporarily moved away from major social and political issues and conflicts, focusing primarily on writing humorous works in smaller genres, such as the collections "Tales from One Pocket" and "Tales from Another Pocket," both published in 1929. His book "Apocrypha" (1932) provides a philosophical and humorous reinterpretation of well-known biblical stories.

The intensification of social contradictions and the "animal doctrine" of fascism revealed to Čapek the inadequacy of the thesis "everyone is right in their own way." This led to a philosophical overcoming of relativism, as reflected in the trilogy "Hordubal" (1933), "Meteor" and "An Ordinary Life" (both published in 1934). The pinnacle of Čapek's work is the novel "War with the Newts" (1936), where his traditional protest against the dehumanization of human relationships transforms into satire on bourgeois society, militarism, racial theories, and fascist politics. Čapek's anti-fascist and anti-war sentiments, along with his search for the ideal of a "whole human being" capable of fighting, shaped the content of works such as the play "The White Sickness" (1937) and the novella "The First Rescue" (1937), as well as his final play, "The Mother" (1938).

Čapek's experiences during the Munich Agreement in 1938 and the persecution he faced from fascist and pro-fascist elements during the "Second Republic" period exacerbated his illness and hastened his death. His works have had a significant influence on the development of contemporary social science fiction and have made a notable contribution to world classical literature. There are two museums dedicated to Čapek in Czechoslovakia: the country house museum "On Strž" and the memorial museum in his birthplace.