The article analyses consequences and benefits of the research perspective taken by literary anthropology which, as the authoress claims, should be perceived as a reformulation of literary studies rather than a narrowly conceived research method. The article discusses mutual relationships between literary studies and anthropology with the focus on the theories conceiving literature as the only available form of anthropology (Wolfgang Iser). The anthropological perspective in literary studies, the author claims, should be aimed at extracting literary anthropology from literature.