Abstract

:This article has a dual purpose. On the one hand, I propose a Gnostic reading of Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Double Life of Véronique. In this interpretation, the figure of the puppeteer, who is eventually revealed to be the maker of the film's story, stands for the Gnostic demiurge. He creates puppet-people only to discard and sacrifice them when he is done performing. On the other hand, I use the film as a springboard for launching a broader philosophical conversation, existentialist in nature, on the notion of world as farce. Participants in this conversation are figures such as Schopenhauer, Dostoevsky and Cioran. Weronika's sacrifice is discussed from these two complementary standpoints.