Wielka Wojna, wielkie nadzieje, wielkie wątpliwości. Zmysły, emocje i trudny patriotyzm w dzienniku Zofii Nałkowskiej
The Great War, Great Hopes, Great Doubts. Senses, Emotions and Difficult Patriotism in Zofia Nałkowska’s Diary

Summary/Abstract: The article describes the experience of World War I and the period just after the war (1914–1918) written in the diary of Zofia Nałkowska, an outstanding Polish novelist (1896–1954). For Nałkowska, World War I was very strong sensual experience (new sounds and images that invade privacy). At the same time, the war reveals the truth about human life, being full of cruelty. The war is also a period of collective behaviour, including collective patriotic behaviour requiring sacrifice of an individual. The article shows the tension in Nałkowska’s diary, between what is collective, patriotic, and what is individual, private (patriotism is a great value for Nałkowska, but at the same time she realizes that it can be a source of nationalistic and chauvinistic behaviour). Finally, the article shows Nałkowska’s critical attitude, at the end of the war and just after the war, connected with the awareness that the regained independence is not a solution to all Polish problems.

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