The experience of exile through the eyes of Czech writers

This thesis seeks to demonstrate how the experience of exile was reflected in the work of 20th century Czech writers. It does so by way of an examination of the respective responses of Jan Drabek and Jaroslav Vejvoda to two historical traumas: the 1948 Communist Coup and the failure of the "Prague Spring" in 1968. It argues that while both Drabek and Vejvoda employ typical aspects of exilic literature in their work, each of them provides a different reflection on exile according to the distinct social and political condition of his time. By analyses of these responses to historical trauma, this thesis emphasizes the transition from the external, social, and political approach of Drabek to the internal, private, and strictly non political position of Vejvoda.