Nationalist Orientation As a Creative Determinant in the Polish Romantic Literature: an Analysis of Selected Works by Adam Mickiewicz

TOMASZ JERZY BRENET

Akademia Techniczno-Humanistyczna w Bielsku-Białej

Nationalist Orientation as a Creative Determinant in the Polish Romantic Literature: An Analysis of Selected Works by Adam Mickiewicz

Key words: Romantic literature, nationalism, identity Słowa klucze: literatura romantyczna, nacjonalizm, tożsamość

Romanticism is the period in the history of culture and literature extending from the end of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century. It developed on the basis of political and social relations induced by the French Revolution of 1789 and its consequences. Even though the Revolution as such never achieved real success, the banners and ideals raised by it were preserved and embedded in the consciousness of different social classes and groups, and even whole nations, to germinate there throughout the whole 19th century and produce yields in the 20th century. The supporter of these revolutionary ideals developed and pursued by a multitude of secret organizations of a national or international character was constantly and everywhere found in literature, whereas poets, military men, activists and patriots were their disseminators who died repeatedly in the battlefield or who were deprived of food and tormented for years in casemates of fortresses and severe political prisons which were notorious in the entire world. Suffice it to mention the heroism connected with the death of Lord George Byron in the course of fights for the liberation of Greece and the death of Sándor Petőfi in the battlefields in Hungary, or the execution of a Decembrist, Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev, in Russia1. The vicissitudes of Polish writers in the Austrian, Prussian and Russian partitions were not much better – prison experiences play a crucial role in the biographies of Wincenty

1 Julian Krzyżanowski, Dzieje literatury polskiej (Warsaw: PWN, 1972), pp. 222-223. 76 Tomasz Jerzy Brenet

Pol, Zygmunt Kaczkowki, Cyprian Kamil Norwid or finally Adam Mickiewicz, among others. The revolutionary banners promulgated by Romanticism concerned three fundamental areas of differentiated significance. They indicated the necessity to fight against political cap- tivity and demanded the right to liberty for the nations which had been deprived of it and in- corporated (like Poland) with force and violence into powerful foreign state organisms such as the Russian, Austrian and Ottoman empires or the kingdoms of Great Britain and Prussia. The political movement supported by these ideals and banners produced a double yield – a part of oppressed peoples managed to throw off the yoke of bondage, especially in the Balkans, or achieved more or less long-lasting autonomy. Other peoples, whose liberation was to come much later, entered the phase of profound internal transformations, woke up and prepared for liberty, while their own national literature became a reliable means of revival. In numerous cases, their national literature joined the European mainstream of literary life for the very first time2. The second area, which was less momentous in this period embraced by romantic and revolutionary banners, was a social life and the ongoing struggle for the rights of discrimi- nated classes (referred to as “the fourth estate”) – workers and peasants. Finally, the banners of the third group were of a different rank and, as a result, they referred to the previous ones in an inadequate and artificial manner. They propagated the necessity to fight against social superstitions and misconceptions constraining the liberty of a human being, especially the one who is talented and prevails over the environment. The prejudices were based on social back- ground, material differences, social positions, differences in political, social and religious convictions. Romanticism, which highly valued uniqueness and exceptionality of individualism that reached its heights in the heroism of thought and deed inaccessible to the general public, sooner or later had to come to the unavoidable antimony: individual versus community (pas- sive commoners who cannot ascend to the heights on which an internal life of an unusual individual passed). A person who is exceptionally socialized and who lives not exclusively for themselves, or even not for themselves, but for their class, their nation and finally for the entire humankind. When this tendency started to settle in the Polish culture, a Europe-wide romantic ideology found very favorable social and political conditions for evolvement – times of national bondage, tsarist repression, nationalist impulses and hope related with the figure of

2 Ibidem Nationalist Orientation as a Creative… 77

Napoleon that independence would be regained.3 And even though it is possible to distinguish numerous trends in the romantic literature at large, the political situation of Poland translated into the dominance of patriotic and nationalist motifs in the creative activity of Polish romantic writers and a specific conception of the fatherland perceived as the highest spiritual value. The writers of this period assigned a special task to poetry which was supposed to main- tain the continuity of Polish national identity, whereas the poet was established as a national bard and soothsayer – a spiritual leader of Poles. Such a poet – a hero and a blasphemer – can be found in the Third Part of Forefathers’ Eve (Dziady) by Adam Mickiewicz – a work writ- ten in 1832 in Dresden (one year after the outbreak of the November Uprising which aimed at liberating the Polish nation from the power of the partitioners and providing it with the exis- tence of an independent country. The work presents the suffering of the Polish youth acting against the tsar. It may be also interpreted as an attempt to make the Polish people aware of the fact that it is chosen by God to accomplish a historic mission and that there is a reason for its suffering that has a symbolic meaning. The drama Forefathers’ Eve Part Three consists of an introduction, motto, prologue, Act I and an extract. Act I includes ten scenes. They are joined with each other in various ways. The first three scenes concentrate on the figure of Konrad (a suffering patriot) and are ordered chronologically one after the other – they are all set at the same location. Another three ones focus on Father Peter, whereas the last three scenes concern Senator Novosiltsov. In the central part of the work, there is the Vision of Father Peter regarded the most important part in terms of the message of the play. Additionally, it is surrounded by two other visions – of Sen- ator and of Ewa. The entire work is clamped by fantastic events happening in the Prologue and Scene IX. The persecution of young Poles concerned with the national affairs is presented at several places in the work: Scene I, VII and VIII. In Scene I, the prisoners gather in one of the cells. This is the place where one of the dramatis personae, Zegota, states that he actually does not know why he have been arrested. He claims he did not take part in any conspiracy. The prisoners talk about courts, being starved and prison-vans in which they were transported. Many of them do not know how much time they have spent in prison and do not know when they may be released from there. They are interrogated and treated in an inhumane manner. They are aware of their collective imprisonment. In Scene VII, Adolf tells the story of one of the victimized Poles - some Cichowski. He knew him when he was a child and recalls him as

3 Juliusz Kleiner, Zarys dziejów literatury polskiej (Wrocław-Warsaw-Krakow-Gdańsk: Ossolineum, 1974), pp. 255- 259. 78 Tomasz Jerzy Brenet

a likeable, serene and cheerful man. One day Cichowski disappeared unexpectedly. After some time, people received the information that he had committed suicide. When two years elapsed, it proved that he was still alive and kept in the tsarist prison. His wife was not allowed to see him for another three years., while Cichowski himself was intimidated, tortured and tormented. He was not allowed to sleep for several nights in a row and was fed with salty dishes (herrings) without a possibility to drink water. Finally, after another three years, Cichowski was escorted to his house and forced to sign a document confirming that he had been released from prison to home and felt all right. The tortures, however, had changed him totally. When he is visited by his old friend, Cichowski behaves disturbingly:

The door's click meant: "More questions. More arrests." He'd turn his back, prop head on hand, and wait Collecting strength enough to concentrate. His lips pressed tight to make them one thin line. He hid his eyes lest they should give some sign, And any sign might tell them what he thought. The simplest question seems to have him caught. He'd crouch in shadows, crying "I won't talk."4

One more representation of victimization experienced by Poles is included in Scene VIII of the drama. It presents the fate of young Rollins whose blind mother comes to Senator No- vosiltsov in order to inquire about what is happening with her son. Rollinson, just like it was in the case of Cichowski, was arrested without any known reason. It is also not known what is happening with him and when he would have the chance to be released. The young man is tortured and then his suicidal attempt is simulated. Fortunately for Rollinson and his mother, he manages to survive. Scene II of Forefathers’ Eve Part Three is the Improvisation of Kon- rad. In the history of literature it is called The Great Improvisation due to the fact that this very fragment of the work is regarded the highest achievement of lyric poetry by Adam Mic- kiewicz and one of the most unique masterpieces of European Romanticism. In The Great Improvisation, a hero-poet blasphemes against God accusing him for inflict- ing suffering on the Polish nation. However, before he does so, he ascends more and more on the steps of his pride. In the beginning, he considers himself better than other people. He talks

4 https://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED444900/ERIC_ED444900_djvu.txt [date of access: 04.12.2019] Nationalist Orientation as a Creative… 79

about himself: “I am master.”5 A further phase of his increasing in pride is perceiving himself as the greatest poet in the world. Konrad claims that no creator or artist has been ever equal to him:

You, poets, I trample you underfoot, All of you, sages and prophets.6

He compares his poetic power to the might of God, which moves him closer to the extreme of his hubris. In the end, he places himself above God whom he blames for following exclusively the reason and not the heart as it is done by himself. The character resorts to the statement:

I feel immortality, I create immortality, And you, God, what more could you do?7

Simultaneously, he demands from God “dominion over souls.”8 Finally, he wants to move further – to the greatest blasphemy – to compare God to the tsar. However, he is restrained from doing so by, paradoxically, none other than... the devil! Konrad is a rebellious romantic poet. An outstanding figure with great spirit who wants to liberate his suffering and agonized nation from bondage by means of his creative power. He states:

I look at my unfortunate fatherland As a son at his father on the wrack, And I feel all the pain of my people, Like a mother the child in her womb.9

What is more, Konrad, as a poet, has the gift of prophesying. In the so-called small improvisation he experiences a vision and sings:

My song was already in the grave, already cold – It smells blood – peers from underneath the earth – And rises hungry for blood like a vampire:

5 https://www.poemhunter.com/i/ebooks/pdf/adam_mickiewicz_2012_9.pdf [date of access: 04.12.2019] 6 As cited in: Balázs Trencsényi and Michal Kopeček, eds. National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements: Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe 1770-1945 (Budapest and New York: Central European University Press, 2006), p. 413. 7 https://www.poemhunter.com/i/ebooks/pdf/adam_mickiewicz_2012_9.pdf [date of access: 04.12.2019] 8 http://archive.org/stream/polandpoles00boswuoft/polandpoles00boswuoft_djvu.txt [date of access: 04.12.2019] 9 As cited in Trencsényi and Kopeček, National Romanticism, p. 415. 80 Tomasz Jerzy Brenet

And demands blood, demands blood, demands blood…10

He is an individual of remarkable personality, with strong spirit – he revolts against the surrounding reality. Nevertheless, he feels that he cannot be understood, thus he asks:

Alone! Ah, men! And who of you, divining My spirit, grasps the meaning of its song? Whose eye will see the radiance of its shining?11

For him, poetry is “a star beyond the bourne of earth”12 – something which is distant, unat- tainable, great and inconceivable to people. Thanks to his creative abilities, he claims a right to possess supernatural godlike powers. His works have the creative nature not only with re- ference to literature, but also to the reality. Therefore, he believes that he may dictate the nation how is should act and develop. The poet is intended to lead the nation and indicate the direction which must be followed. He must be an outstanding individual who has a distinct and strong personality. Thus, his words turn into deeds and he is independent of divine power. He can even act contrary to God’s commands, if required by the situation. Konrad identifies himself directly with his fatherland and the Polish nation. He describes himself in the following manner:

Now is my soul incarnate in my country And in my body dwells her soul; My fatherland and I are one great whole. My name is million, for I love as millions: Their pain and suffering I feel.13

What he feels inside him is a sense of vocation to the fight for independence of his country and for freedom of his compatriots. Konrad feels strong enough to be at their head. His patriotism is so tremendous that he assumes that he can reject God if this can help him liberate his fatherland from bondage. It proves, however, that even though Konrad enjoys high esteem among fellow prisoners, he is not able to become the leader of the nation in its fight for liber-

10 As cited in Lisa A. Nevárez, The Vampire Goes to College: Essays on Teaching with the Undead, (Jefferson: McFarland , 2014 ), p.168. 11 As cited in: Harold B. Segel, ed. Polish Romantic Drama: Three Plays in English Translation (London and New York: Routledge, 2014), p. 73 12 Ibidem 13 Ibidem, p. 80 Nationalist Orientation as a Creative… 81

ty. God, who could give him appropriate powers, remains silent and does not respond to calls – presumably he has other plans related to the Polish nation. Scene V whose action happens in a monk’s cell is primarily The Vision of Father Peter. Within its course, the monk experiences God’s grace which was not given to Konrad. Proba- bly because Father Peter starts his conversation with God with words full of humbleness:

Lord, what am I before thy countenance? Dust and naught.14

As if for a reward, he receives a prophetic vision concerning the future of Poland. It is the Poles who are a nation chosen by God to accomplish a special mission. They have to redeem its and other nations’ sins as a result of which they will lead to the liberation of all from the foreign yoke. The mission of the Polish nation is the repetition of the biblical fate of Jesus Christ – Poles, just like him, are punished and tortured atrociously, kept in prison, tormented. The embodiment of Pontius Pilate washing his hand of responsibility is France, whereas Her- od is embodied in tsar Nicholas II; Austria and Prussia are soldiers watering the Savior with bile. The plight of Poland, like the suffering of Jesus, is not pointless. In due time she will re- surrect and bring redemptions for others. During the prophetic vision, Father Peter foretells the appearance of a mysterious hero:

But see – a child escapes, grows up – he is our savior, The restorer of our land! Born of a foreign mother, in his veins The blood of ancient warriors – and his name Shall be forty and four.15

Another protagonist of Polish romantic poetry is Konrad Wallenrod – the title character of an historical poem by Adam Mickiewicz – whose main priority is the wellbeing of his fatherland. The poet, basing on the history of old Lithuania, created the story of a mysterious Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Konrad Wallenrod, whose plots must be perceived through the prism of dramatic experiences of the subjugated nation (partitions) seeking rescue from total extermination.

14 Ibidem, p. 96. 15 Ibidem, p. 97. 82 Tomasz Jerzy Brenet

Literary critics and historians indicate literary relations of Konrad Wallenrod to the works by Byron, Walter Scott and even Machiavelli16 since Adam Mickiewicz adopted a motto from his political treatise – The Prince.

Ye shall know that there are two ways of fighting — You must be a fox and a lion.17

A fox, as it is commonly known, is characterized by a trick, cunning and guile, whereas the features of a lion are: courage, close combat till a defeat or a victory. Thus, this motto is most adequately matched for the life path chosen by Konrad Wallenrod and his fight. A tragic hero whose plight is conditioned on various factors ranging from his kidnapping as a child by Teu- tonic Knights to the Order to the necessity to choose between two loves of his life: love for his beloved and tender wife and love for his fatherland. He chose the second one, abandoned his wife and home because:

Yet found no happiness in heart or home, For in the country was there blessing none.18

The character knew perfectly well that he needed to pick a crafty fight so as to conquer the enemy. The plans of this sly combat required that Konrad overcome his moral scruples – he had to earn trust of the foe to achieve the aim. In order to win his favor, he deceives Teutonic knights while being already the Great Master. Moreover, he violates the oath taken before the crucifix. Finally, he leads to the collapse of the Order, but he experiences an internal conflict resulting from the fact that he needs to start a cunning fight. As a medieval knight he has been bound by the chivalric code which he had to reject to lead a fight against the Order with the “fox’s method.” He knew that he could not fight as a lion being alone since he would be doomed to defeat in advance. Therefore, he chose the only effective way of battle, which was cant, hypocrisy, treachery and deceit. Not because this mode of fighting derived from his nature, but because this method of combat was dictated by the specific historical circumstances. He is an individual who, at a particular moment of his life, has to face political and social conditions which

16 See, for example, Juliusz Kleiner, Mickiewicz, Vol. 2: Dzieje Konrada (Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe Kul, 1948), p. 100. 17 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34050/34050-h/34050-h.html [date of access: 04.12.2019] 18 Ibidem

Nationalist Orientation as a Creative… 83

were beyond his control. The fatherland was endangered and all possible measures needed to be taken to prevent its calamity and even annihilation brought by the Teutonic Order. He chose the path of deceit and treachery for the sake of higher objectives – happiness and freedom of his country. Konrad is aware of his disgraceful conduct – that is why he shuns people and seeks obli- vion and consolation in wine. He founds himself in a situation without escape since whatever he would do, it would be his undoing. If he had not picked a cunning fight with the enemy, his country would have been completely destroyed. Konrad Wallenrod picked a fight against the Teutonic Order, saved his fatherland – yet, at the same time, he led himself to a fatal death. He lost what was the most precious for a knight – honor, and died disgracefully from his suicidal hand. The cause of his tragedy is the disproportion of powers. His victory (even if very significant) is indeed partial. Although he broke the power of the Teutonic Order, he lost as a man and a medieval knight. He jeopardized his conscience and good name. The sense of performing a heroic deed did not bring him relief as Konrad himself could not accept his own conduct. The act committed by the character was as ethical as possible, but according to him the measures taken by him were not ethical whatsoever. Konrad Wallenrod is a romantic hero – he manifests such features as: mysteriousness, loneliness in action, internal conflict between what is ethical and what is immoral. He is an outstanding individual who aims at playing a vital and momentous part in society. Further- more, he remains in the conflict with the surrounding reality and rebels against the existing order. Konrad is entirely devoted to his mission since he strongly identifies with the historical situation of the nation. All these features are typical of other protagonists in the works of romantic poets – they are typical of the Byronic hero. Both Konrad Wallenrod and the Giaour from Lord Byron’s poem fight for freedom from the enemy’s oppression. The Giaour opposes the Muslim tyranny, whereas Konrad fights with the tyranny imposed by the Teutonic Order. Despite these common characteristics, the two protagonists differ from each other. The Gia- our acts rather because of personal reasons (love for Leila) – he is characterized by egoism and selfishness; he concentrates on his own feelings and experiences. Konrad Wallenrod fights for the sake of the happiness of the whole nation pushing aside his personal feelings. The role of poetry in the life of the nation is of paramount importance. Basing on The Song of the Wajdelote (an old songster) in Konrad Wallenrod, we learn that folk poetry pre- serves the memory of great deeds of national heroes. It is a link joining older and younger generations and stimulating them to follow the steps of the heroes from the past. In folk poet- 84 Tomasz Jerzy Brenet

ry there is included the whole range of experiences of generations for it constitutes an inde- structible treasure of the national culture:

The flame devoureth story’s pictured words, And thieves with steel wide scatter treasure hoards. But scatheless is the song the poet sings.19

These several verses indicate that poetry, in the view of Romantic authors, is the most permanent value – even more permanent than pieces of art and material wealth. The history of Po- land shows that the Romantic poetry survived the greatest historical calamities and helped the nation preserve is identity and national consciousness. In Konrad Wallenrod, old Wajdelote has become the embodiment of patriotism of simple people. Just like each and every literary trend elsewhere has been shaped and developed under the influence of political, social and economic circumstances of its epoch, also the nature of Polish Romantic literature was influenced by the nation’s turbulent historical experiences. Poles entered the 19th century without their own country. Therefore, the problems of bondage and fight for independence took a dominant place in the then consciousness of the nation. Poles, enlivened with liberation and democratic ideals of the French Revolution, firstly took up arms by Napoleon’s side, and then organized numerous patriotic conspiracies independent- ly and fought against the three partitioners. The expression of non-acceptance of the partitions and national bondage, after the Napoleonic Wars, took form of secret organizations and national uprisings, such as: conspiracy led by Major Walerian Łukasiński (Polish Patriotic So- ciety – 1821), Piotr Wysoki Conspiracy and the November Uprising (1830-1831), Krakow Uprising (1846), Greater Poland Uprising in the period of the Spring of Nations (1848) and the January Uprising (1863). All these actions ended with a defeat for Poles. They did not revive the independence of the country immediately, yet they exerted a substantial impact on the nature of national consciousness and national culture.

Bibliography BURWICK F., A History of Romantic Literature, Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Blackwell, 2019. BYRON G. G., The Giaour. A Fragment of a Turkish Tale, London, Forgotten Books, 2017. KLEINER J., Mickiewicz, Vol. 2: Dzieje Konrada. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe Kul, 1948. KLEINER J., Zarys dziejów literatury polskiej, Wrocław-Warsaw-Krakow-Gdańsk, Ossoli- neum, 1974.

19 Ibidem Nationalist Orientation as a Creative… 85

KOROPECKYJ R., Adam Mickiewicz. The Life of a Romantic, Ithaca and London, Cornell University Press, 2008. KRZYŻANOWSKI J., Dzieje literatury polskiej, Warsaw, PWN, 1972. MICKIEWICZ A., Dziady, Warsaw, Greg, 2017. MICKIEWICZ A., Konrad Wallenrod, Warsaw, Greg, 2019 . NEVÁREZ L. A., The Vampire Goes to College: Essays on Teaching with the Undead, Jef- ferson, McFarland, 2014. PRICKETT S., ed. European Romanticism: A Reader, London, Continuum, 2010. SEGEL H. B., ed. Polish Romantic Drama: Three Plays in English Translation, London and New York, Routledge, 2014. TRENCSÉNYI B. and MICHAL KOPEČEK, eds. National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements: Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe 1770-1945, Budapest and New York, Central European University Press, 2006. WITKOWSKA A., Romantyzm, Warsaw, PWN, 2009

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Orientacja nacjonalistyczna jako determinanta twórcza w polskiej literaturze romantycznej: analiza wybranych utworów Adama Mickiewicza Celem niniejszego artykułu jest zwrócenie uwagi na specyficzny charakter literatury polskiej okresu romanty- zmu jako twórczości zawierającej wyraźne elementy nacjonalistyczne przyczyniające się do tworzenia tożsamo- ści narodowej, jak świadomości historycznej narodu ciemiężonego. Specyfika ta wynika z kontekstu historycz- no-politycznego, w jakim przyszyło tworzyć polskim literatom, których życie zdominowane zostało przez do- świadczenie rozbiorów i walk narodowowyzwoleńczych. Przedstawiony problem zostaje omówiony w oparciu o analizę wybranych utworów polskiego wieszcza narodowego, Adama Mickiewicza (dramat Dziady i poetycka powieść historyczna Konrad Wallenrod). Oba te utwory podkreślają zarówno szczególną rolę państwa jako naj- wyższej wartości duchowej, jak i koncentrują się na postaci poety jako jednostki wybitnej i jedynej w swoim rodzaju, która ma potencjał osobowościowy do tego, by stać się swoistym liderem-przewodnikiem wyprowadza- jącym swój zniewolony przez obce siły naród ku upragnionej niepodległości.