Austria Cypriana Norwida
Cyprian Norwid’s Austria

Author(s): Karol Samsel
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Cyprian Norwid; Austria; France; postcolonial studies; Wladyslaw Mickiewicz; Battle of Sadowa
Summary/Abstract: Among numerous Norwid’s opinions about Austria and the Habsburgian monarchy between many periods of his life strike most of all these, which he manifested in 1860’s, especially in time of the Austro-Prussian War. There becomes visible other face of Cyprian Norwid: strategist of an enslaved and supressed nation, which endeavour to negotiate all the conditions of national, social and political forms of his country sustenance. Companionship to that dialogue could be provided – as Norwid certainly seems to believe – only by Austria, the most ‘enlighted’ invader and de facto – Poland’s ‘colonisator’. In Norwid’s attitude to Austria have been underlined many other, also very crucial qualities of his political view of the world, among others – the anti-Bismarckian and anti-Wilhelmian profile of poet’s thinking. Then, Memories written by Władysław Mickiewicz and its ultimately austrophobic charakter prove, how differently from other Polish emigrants semeed Norwid to perceive the issue of national autonomy on the international scene. Norwid’s opinions on the Austria’s role as the protector of the Polish account demand also verifying how constant the earlier myth of Polish Slavdom remains in the second half of 19th century. In that perspective Wanda’s author kept – as the premises suggest – far-reaching scepticism. Another attention in the analysis was devoted to the issue of Norwid’s sympathy to Galicia, its causes and peculiar ways of demonstration. The additional (however least secondary) aim of the study was also to move the centre of gravity in norwidologists’ researches about Europe in 19th century seen with poet’s eyes. Usually the dominant for exploration that area of the enquiry are the picture of Norwid’s France and simultaneously the image of poet’s Paris. That tradition of referring the subject introduced in their studies Mieczysław Inglot and Krzysztof Trybuś.

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