„A tu rzeczywistość skrzeczy…”, czyli Na marne i Z dobrego serca Lucjana Rydla
‘And here the reality is screeching…’, or Na marne and Z dobrego serca by Lucjan Rydel

Summary/Abstract: Two dramas by Lucjan Rydel 'Na marne' (1895) and 'Z dobrego serca' (1897) were created during the poet’s stay in Western Europe. These pieces are a testimony to changes in his worldview and attitude to life. He left in them his youthful fascination with symbolic and mood drama modeled on Maurice Maeterlinck’s plays. The attempts to transpose these patterns were heavily criticized by his youthful works 'Matka' and 'Dies irae'. Rydel turned to realism in art. In this case, the patterns were provided by Gerhart Hauptmann and Leo Tolstoy. Na marne is based on the confrontation of two life attitudes. The Major, a former insurgent, symbolizes patriotic tradition and deed, and his grandson Adam is a decadent who has lost faith in the meaning of life. It pushes him to suicide. This drama is a warning against passivity and fatalism. 'Z dobrego serca' treats about the sacrifice of a young girl who, after her sister’s death, decides to marry a much older brother-in-law to save her family. It becomes the personification of love of human being. For Rydel, the foundation on which we should build our life is Christian values. The choice made by the poet confirms his subsequent dramas mainly written for the folk theatre of which he was the initiator and creator.

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