„Para śmiertelnych wrogów w jednej mentalności” – emocje w powojennych pamiętnikach osób awansujących
“A Pair of Mortal Enemies of One Mentality”: Emotions in Post-War Diaries of Upwardly Mobile Individuals

Summary/Abstract: Głowacka and Szcześniak present close readings of diaries published in two volumes ofthe series “Młode pokolenie wsi Polski Ludowej” [The Young Generation in the Villagesof the Polish People’s Republic], edited by J. Chałasiński, to examine the representationof emotions related to the experience of post-war upward mobility. Using theoreticaltools put forward by historians of emotions (Reddy, Stearns) and critical theorists(Ahmed, Williams), the authors examine the tools used to represent structures offeeling characteristic of upwardly mobile working classes after the war. The emotionsdescribed in the diaries are rarely clear and homogenous – feelings mix, creatingambivalent, sometimes contradictory combinations of happiness and terror, nostalgiaand estrangement, shame and obstinate pride. Emotional volatility, the challenge ofsettling into one’s feelings, is clearly visible in individual narratives and characterisespost-war upward mobility stories.

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