Towiański i towianizm w listach Krasińskiego
Towiański and Towianism in Krasiński’s letters

Author(s): Jerzy Fiećko
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, 19th Century, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Zygmunt Krasiński; Andrzej Towiański; Towianism; prophetism; philosophy of history; magnetism
Summary/Abstract: In the first part of the article, the author analyses Zygmunt Krasiński’s attitude to Towianism seen as a kind of religious doctrine, based primarily on the writer’s letters to various addressees. It is emphasised that at first Krasiński approached Towiański’s ideas open-mindedly and even found in them some important elements that were in line with his own philosophy of history. In later years, after the Spring of Nations, his attitude changed considerably as he began to consider Towianism one of the greatest threats to Polishness. The second part of the article contains a comprehensive reconstruction of Krasiński’s attitude towards Andrzej Towiański as a public figure. The writer devoted much attention to the phenomenon of magnetism which, as he suspected, was used by Towiański in the relations with his followers and other people around him. On the other hand, he maintained a distance from the suspicion that Master Andrzej was a Russian agent. Krasiński did not consider Towiański a prophet but a “mighty” (strong) personality and thought some of his religious ideas worth attention. Later, Krasiński significantly changed his attitude towards Towiański and after 1848 consistently described him as a personal enemy and an “agent of hell”.

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