Abstrakt
Authors and artists necessarily constitute their work from the particular environment and context in which they live. However, to produce truly immortal art, they must transcend the local, the here and now, and appeal to the core substance of human experience that overarches centuries.
Their work must appeal to their own generation with certain degree of understanding, but some also have an afterlife reflecting the concerns of humankind as such. They address the essence of humanity such as the desire for love and happiness, self-respect and respect for others.
In many cases, historical circumstances in which the author struggles repeat themselves or resemble his personal history and events bothering his contemporaries. Karel Čapek reflected the hopes and worries of his generation but he also spoke and still speaks to coevals.
His main fears contained the threat of dehumanisation caused by modern technologies and later by the rise of undemocratic authorities and populism around Europe. After World War I. he belonged to the most famous and influential authors in Europe and the world.