Słowacki Gombrowicza
Słowacki in Gombrowicz

Summary/Abstract: Discussed are the appearances of Juliusz Słowacki in Witold Gombrowicz’s writing. Although neither his Dziennik [Diary] nor Wspomnienia polskie [Polish Memories], nor in fact any other of his considerations on Polish literature, mention any of Słowacki’s work, biographical accounts leave no doubt that Gombrowicz was in his youth fascinated with Romantic recluses. Bolecki argues that the Shakespeareanism of Gombrowicz’s plays (Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda [Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy] and Ślub [The Wedding]) also had a neglected intermediary, namely, the plays by Słowacki. Like other great authors, Słowacki appears in Gombrowicz’s oeuvre as a network of allusions and analogies that are not decipherable at first glance. A Gombrowiczian reference always means a change, a transformation, a reversal of signs at times, and even homage paid through apparent derision. This is the meaning of the literature lesson in Ferdydurke.

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