Będzie polepszenie, będzie przedłużenie

Abstract

The article is an attempt at extending Stephen O'Leary's theory of apocalyptic discourse by means of the interpretative approach proposed by Clifford Geertz. For this purpose, the author draws on the results of his fieldwork in the Suwalki region in North East Poland. Using as his starting point the standard formula of the local apocalyptic discourse: "If there is improvement, there will be extension", he reconstructs structures of signification in this discourse concerning mainly time and evil and their tragic and comic dimensions. Particular attention is given to concepts of the deterioration of time, God's punishment, portents of the end, and the end as a new beginning. Analyzing them, the author also discusses Mircea Eliade's theory of archaic ideas of time and evil and shows its inadequacy in the contemporary apocalyptic discourse.