Dwie pamięci o pięknie w "Samuelu Zborowskim" Juliusza Słowackiego
Two Memories of Beauty in "Samuel Zborowski" by Juliusz Słowacki

Author(s): Natalia Szerszeń
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Juliusz Słowacki; Samuel Zborowski; Genesian system; Heavenly Jerusalem; beauty
Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the question of the different varieties of beauty and the forms of art in which beauty exists in Juliusz Słowacki’s Genesian system. Beauty can manifest itself in the work of human hands, in bodies, in acts and, what is the most important, in the transcendent beauty of God and the Heavenly Jerusalem. In the history of Eolion and Atessa, the aestheticisation of funeral rituals and death is a compensation: the beauty of the tomb and sarcophagus alleviate the fear of dying and uncertainty about the future. Sleeping as anticipation of the next incarnation is peaceful because coffins are full of beauty. The memory of the beautiful last moments before death allows Eolion and Atessa to find themselves disconnected in the next incarnation. All these forms of beauty are adapted to the needs of spirits entangled in matter, still making a metempsychosist journey upwards. Samuel Zborowski, as an old, wise spirit, guided in his actions not by the needs of the body, but by the care of his nation, represented a higher state of consciousness, so he was not afraid to sacrifice his life. Such a sacrifice is beautiful, and both the individual spirit and his fellowship of spirits bring him closer to God. A similar task is set by Juliusz Słowacki for Genesian art, which is to lead spirits to transfiguration (called “transformation into an angel” – “przeanielenie”).

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