Józef Ignacy Kraszewski | |
|---|---|
![Portrait of Kraszewski, State Archive in Łódź [pl]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aJ.I._Kraszewski_Archiwum_Pa%25C5%2584stwowe_w_%25C5%2581odzi41_(cropped).Jpeg) Portrait of Kraszewski,State Archive in Łódź [pl] | |
| Born | (1812-07-28)28 July 1812 |
| Died | 19 March 1887(1887-03-19) (aged 74) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Pen name | Bogdan Bolesławita, B.B., Kaniowa, Dr Omega, Kleofas Fakund Pasternak, and JIK |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist and historian |
| Language | Polish |
| Genres | Primarily novel, but also drama, poetry and non-fiction |
| Years active | 1830–1887 |
| Notable works | Chata za Wsią (The Cottage Beyond the Village, 1854) Hrabina Cosel [pl] (The Countess Cosel, 1874) Stara Baśń (An Ancient Tale, 1876) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Signature | |
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Józef Ignacy Kraszewski[a] (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polishnovelist,journalist,historian,publisher,painter, andmusician.
Born in Warsaw into a noble family, he spent much of his youth with his maternal grandparents inRomanów and completed his education in various cities, includingVilna. Kraszewski's literary career began in 1830, and he became an influential writer and journalist. Despite facing political challenges and imprisonment for his involvement in theNovember Uprising, he continued to support Polish independence. He spent his later years inDresden, where he remained active in political and literary circles until his death inGeneva.
Kraszewski wrote over 200novels and several hundrednovellas,short stories, and art reviews, making him the most prolific writer in the history ofPolish literature and one of the most prolific in world literature. He is best known for hishistorical novels, including an epic series on thehistory of Poland, comprising twenty-nine historical novels; and for novels aboutpeasant life, critical offeudalism andserfdom. His works have been described as liberal-democratic but not radical, and as proto-Positivist.
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was born in Warsaw on 28 July 1812 to a family of Polish nobility (szlachta[b]) bearing theJastrzębiec coat of arms.[1][2][3]: 221 He was the oldest son ofJan Kraszewski [pl] andZofia [pl] and had four siblings, including artistLucjan Kraszewski and writerKajetan Kraszewski.[1][4]: 145 [3]: 222
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski spent much of his youth in the house of his maternal grandparents inRomanów. His grandmother influenced him during this time and taught him French, history, and drawing.[3]: 222
From 1822 to 1826 he attended school inBiała Podlaska (theBiała Academy [pl]); from 1826 to 1827, agymnasium (secondary school) inLublin; and in 1829, inSvislach. He graduated from theSvislach gymnasium [pl] after passing hismatura examinations there.[1][3]: 222 [5]: 259
Beginning in 1829, he studied medicine atUniversity of Vilnius; soon after, he transferred to the Faculty of Literature and Fine Arts.[1][3]: 222 1830 marked his literary debut with several short stories (Biografia sokalskiego organisty [pl],Kotlety. Powieść prawdziwa, andWieczór, czyli przypadki peruki), followed a year later with his first novel (Pan Walery [pl]).[6][2][3]: 222 [5]: 259
While at university, he participated in aPolish-independence movement in support of theNovember 1830 Uprising. On 3 December 1830 he was arrested and was imprisoned until 19 March 1832.[1][3]: 222 Thanks to his family's intervention, he avoided beingconscripted into theImperial Russian Army. After release, until July 1833 he lived in Vilna underpolice supervision. He was then allowed to go to his father's estate inDoŭhaje [Wikidata] (Dołhe), nearPruzhany inVolhynia.[1][3]: 222 [5]: 259 He also spent time, atHorodziec [pl], in the library ofAntoni Urbanowski, whom he would visit often in future.[3]: 222
In 1836 Kraszewski was nominated to join the faculty ofKiev University as professor of Polish language, but the nomination was vetoed by the Russian government, which considered him politically suspect.[1][3]: 222 [5]: 259 In 1851 he was offered a professorship at theJagiellonian University inKraków, but this was again vetoed by the authorities, this time both Russian and Austrian.[1][3]: 223
In 1837 Kraszewski leased a farm in the village ofOmelno [pl].[1][3]: 222 Eventually he also became a landowner in several nearby villages:Gródek [pl], 1840–1848;Hubin [pl], from 1848; andKisiele [pl], from 1854. As time passed, he steadily lost interest in farming and focused on his literary work.[1][3]: 222 By the 1840s he was becoming well known as a prolific writer, and his works appeared in numerous Polish-language magazines and newspapers.[1][3]: 223 [5]: 259
On 10 June 1838 he married Zofia Woroniczówna, niece ofJan Paweł Woronicz, former Bishop of Warsaw. They had four children: Konstancja, born 1839; Jan, born 1841; Franciszek, born 1843; and Augusta, born 1849.[1][3]: 222, 227
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Kraszewski travelled extensively, visiting and staying for extended periods in Warsaw (1846, 1851, 1855, 1859); in 1860 he bought a Warsaw townhouse, now known as theKraszewski House), in Kiev (on numerous occasions), and inOdesa (1843, 1852).[3]: 222 [3]: 223 [5]: 259 Through the 1850s and 1860s he periodically travelled through Western Europe (visiting Italy, German and France, among other places), and published travel accounts from them:Kartki z podróży 1858–1864 (Letters from Travels1858–1864; 1866).[7] His most significant trip occurred in 1858, when he travelled to Western Europe, visiting Austria, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and France. In Italy he was received byPope Pius IX, who admonished him for his alleged liberal bias. This, however, likely heightened Kraszewski's critical view of the Holy State. His travels in the West also made him impatient with the feudal relations – particularly,serfdom – in eastern Poland.[3]: 223 [7]
In 1853, in an effort to better support and educate his four children, Kraszewski moved to his wife Zofia's inherited family estate nearZhytomyr, where he became, from 1856, schoolsuperintendent and director of the local theatre (Teatr Szlachty Wołyńskiej, or Zhytomyr Theater).[8]: 256 [3]: 222 [5]: 259 At first popular with the local nobility, he became less so on account of his support for theabolition of serfdom.[3]: 222 [5]: 259
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As a result, in February 1860 he moved to Warsaw to take up the editorship ofGazeta Polska [pl], a position he had accepted the previous year,[1][3]: 223 leaving his family in Zhytomyr. He grew increasingly distant from his wife, whom he would last see in 1863.[3]: 227
In 1858 he became a corresponding member of theKraków Scientific Society [pl].[3]: 223
In 1861 he became a member of theDelegacja Miejska [pl], a patriotic civic organization based in Warsaw.[9] Kraszewski's political stance was fairly moderate; while supportingthe cause of Polish independence, he saw armed struggle as premature, and initially supported conciliatory negotiations with Russian authorities represented byAleksander Wielopolski.[3]: 224 [5]: 259 His moderate centrist attitude had alienated him from many; Kraszewski has described himself as "too red for thewhites, too white for thereds".[3]: 225–226 [5]: 259 [10]: 160
As tensions grew, Kraszewski found it increasingly difficult to remain moderate, and started to increasingly criticize the Russian authorities. For his criticism ofcensorship in December 1862, the Russian authorities forced him to resign his editorship ofGazeta Polska [pl] and ordered him to leaveCongress Poland. Following the eruption of theJanuary 1863 Uprising, on 3 February 1863 he fled Warsaw.[1][3]: 224 [5]: 259
Leaving theRussian partition, Kraszewski arrived inDresden. His wife and children remained in the Russian partition, and he would support them financially for many years.[2][3]: 225 After his Russian passport expired, the Saxon authorities, in cooperation with the Russian embassy, attempted to declare him an illegal immigrant; to counter that, Kraszewski used a false French passport until he received Austrian citizenship in 1866.[3]: 225 [5]: 260
In Dresden he connected withother Polish refugees and supported theJanuary 1863 Uprising and the cause of Polish independence in the European press (often pseudonymously, to avoid trouble with the Saxon government).[11][5]: 260 From 1870 to mid-1871, with his own funds, he published a weekly,Tydzień Polityczny, Naukowy, Literacki i Artystyczny, but eventually gave up on the endeavour due to financial difficulties.[1][3]: 225
From 1865 he travelled extensively in theAustrian partition of Poland, visiting Lviv, Kraków, Krynica, and Zakopane, and also visited Poznań in thePrussian Partition.[3]: 225 He was again considered but rejected for professorships of Polish literature, at theSGH Warsaw School of Economics in 1865 and theJagiellonian University in 1867.[3]: 225
Beginning in the 1870s, he increasingly suffered from health problems (kidney stone disease,asthma andbronchitis; some medical treatments for those included treatments with what would be today described asnarcotics).[3]: 225
His application forSaxon citizenship was approved in 1869 and for a time he ran a printing press in Dresden.[3]: 225 In 1871 he briefly campaigned to be elected a deputy from the Poznań region, but withdrew facing a strong opposition from the Polish conservative-clergy circles that he opposed in his newspaper polemics. In politics he kept representing the weak moderate faction.[3]: 225–226
Despite his health problems, he kept travelling, often invited to give lectures and attending academic conferences.[5]: 260 In 1872 he became the member of theAcademy of Learning.[11] In 1873 he decided to become a full-time writer, and this year alone he wrote ten novels and two academic texts.[2] He acquired a villa in Dresden.[3]: 225 In 1879 he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his literary career in several cities in Europe, including in Kraków in a large event (on 2 to 7 October) during which he received thehonorary degrees from Jagiellonian University as well as theLviv University.[1][2][3]: 225 In 1880 he attempted to travel to Warsaw but was denied permission by the Russian authorities.[1][3]: 225 In 1882 he helped to found the educational institutionMacierz Polska [pl] inLwów.[11][3]: 225
He lived in Saxony until 1883, when he was arrested, while visiting Berlin, and accused of working for theFrench secret service, for whom he indeed worked since c. 1870.[1][3]: 225 After being tried by theReichsgericht inLeipzig in May 1884, he was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment inMagdeburg (in theMagdeburg fortress [de]).[1][2] The case was seen as political, since Kraszewski was a vocal critic of German chancellorOtto von Bismarck, and Bismarck saw this as an opportunity to deal a blow to thePolish faction in Germany, even personally advocating a death sentence for the writer.[2][3]: 226 While in prison, he was given preferential treatment - he was allowed to write, paint, and receive guests. Due to poor health, high profile of the case covered in European press, and requests fromclemency from Kraszewski's influential friends (such as princeAntoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł and king of Italy,Umberto I), he was released on bail after a year and a half in 1885.[1][2][3]: 226–227
Rather than remain in Magdeburg, as his bail required, he moved to a new home inSanremo, Italy; where he hoped to recuperate in peace. This, however, violated the terms of his release and led to the German government issuance of anarrest warrant for him.[1][2] While in Sanremo, he witnessed the1887 Liguria earthquake.[3]: 227 When the possibility ofextradition arose, he decided to move toLausanne, Switzerland, where he bought a new house; however, he never arrived in it - he died inHôtel de la Paix [fr] inGeneva, frompneumonia, on 19 March 1887,[1][2][3]: 227 four days after his arrival there.[5]: 260 His remains were transferred toKraków, and after a large funeral on 18 April 1887 he was interred at "Skałka" Basilica, in theCrypt of Merit [pl].[1][3]: 227 [5]: 260
Kraszewski is credited with over 600[1] or 700[8]: 256 works, including 223 novels, 20 dramas and many short stories.[1][3]: 227 [5]: 260–261 He is considered one of the most prolific Polish writers,[1] and arguably one of the most prolific writers worldwide,[8]: 256 [12]: 17 and one of the first Polish writers whose works were widely translated (several dozens of his works were translated into Russian, Czech, German, and French; about a dozen, to Serbo-Croatian; several, to English, Italian, Lithuanian and to various Scandinavian languages).[1][5]: 261 His novels, which were very popular even into the mid-20th[8]: 256–257 and early 21st century,[5]: 260 encouragedPolish literacy.[8]: 256–257 Many of his works werecompulsory readings in Polish schools. As of 2010, he was the most prolific writer in Poland by the number of published editions of his works (almost 900 editions published in the years 1944–2010, with the most popular title being hisStara Baśń -An Ancient Tale, which received 78 editions).[13]: 41, 43, 89
Czesław Miłosz, 1980Nobel laureate Polish poet, in hisThe History of Polish Literature (1969) described him as best exemplifying the genre ofhistorical novel in Polish literature.[8]: 256 Miłosz further wrote that in Polish literature, Kraszewski founded the "new genre of fiction based upon documents and other sources where the faithful presentation of a given epoch is the main goal, and plot and characters are used simply as a bait for the readers". In popularizing Polish history, Miłosz drew a parallel between Kraszewski and Poland's foremost painter,Jan Matejko, whose works likewise focused on the history of Poland.[8]: 257
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Kraszewski is best known for his novels. Those could be divided into four major subgenres: historical novels, novels about the life of peasants, novels about the life of nobility and novels about artists.[3]: 223 Out of those four, critics most often mention his historical and peasant novels.[3]: 223 [8]: 256–257 [12]: 17 [11]
His historical novels (94 total[3]: 227 ) include the epic series on thehistory of Poland, comprising twenty-ninehistorical novels in seventy-nine parts, covering the period of Polish prehistory (chronologically beginning withStara Baśń,An Ancient Tale, 1876) to Kraszewski's era ofpartitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Saskie ostatki [pl] -Saxon Remnants, 1890).[8]: 257 [12]: 17 [11][3]: 226 Also significant are the three "Saxon Novels" (theSaxon trilogy [de]), written between 1873 and 1883 in Dresden.[11][3]: 226 Together, they create a detailed history of theElectorate of Saxony, from 1697 to 1763. Miłosz noted that the best of these are the first two,Hrabina Cosel [pl] (The Countess Cosel, 1874) andBrühl [pl] (1875).[8]: 257
His "peasant" novels, critical of serfdom and feudalism, are also often mentioned among his important contributions. Miłosz called them his most popular works[8]: 257 andWincenty Danek [pl] wrote that they are the works that have popularized his name.[3]: 223 That series includes nine novels, out of which the most important areHistoria Sawki (The Story of Sawka, 1842),Ulana [pl] (1843),Ostap Bondarczuk (1847),Chata za Wsią (The Cottage Beyond the Village, 1854),Jermoła: obrazki wiejskie (Jermoła: Pictures from a Village, 1857) andHistorja kołka w płocie (The Story of a Peg in a Fence, 1860).[8]: 257 [3]: 223–224 Danek also noted, referring toHistoria Sawki, that Kraszewski's works were the first time Polish literature discussed the oppression of Ukrainian peasants by the Polish nobility.[3]: 224 Ulana in turn has been praised for its "bold and innovative analysis of the experiences of a peasant woman wronged by her lord".[11]
Danek also praised Kraszewski's novels about the life of nobility, calling them groundbreaking for their criticism of nobility. He citedLatarnia czarnoksięska [pl] (Magical Lighthouse, 1843–1844),Interesa familijne (Family Business, 1853),Złote Jabłko (Golden Apple, 1853), andDwa światy (Two Worlds, 1855) as the most important novels with that theme.[3]: 224
Examples of his works about the life of artists and the place of art in the wider society includePoeta i świat [pl] (The Poet and the World, 1839),[14][15]Sfinks (Sphinx, 1842),Pamiętniki nieznajomego (Diaries of the Unknown, 1846), and Powieść bez tytułu (Novel without a Title, 1855). Some of those works are partly autobiographical.[3]: 223
While Danek described the above four subgenres as Kraszewski's major directions, he also noted that Kraszewski, a very prolific writer, wrote novels representing most if not all major contemporary genres:romances,adventures, comedies, satires, memoires and theirpastiches,gawędas,crime novels,psychological novels,sensation novels, and others.[3]: 227–228
From the technical perspective, Danek noted that Kraszewski novels introduced elements of common speech to Polish literary language.[3]: 224, 228 With regards to Kraszewski's characters, Danek sees them as having relatively little psychological depth, but memorable due to vivid descriptions and mannerisms, and notes that Kraszewski was best at depicting strong female characters.[3]: 228
Alongside novels, Kraszewski also wrote poetry, collected inPoezje (Poems, two volumes in 1838 and 1843), andHymny boleści (Hymns of sorrow, 1857), as well as the lengthy poem-trilogyAnafielas [pl] (1843–1846). He also penned dramas, most notably the comediesMiód kasztelański [pl] (The Castellan's Honey, 1853) andPanie Kochanku (Mr. Lover, 1857). However, as noted by critics, Kraszewski was not particularly gifted in those dimensions.[3]: 224 [16]
In addition to his literary work, he was a contributor to many newspapers, journals and magazines, where he published works of fiction as well as reviews and articles on topics such as art, music and morality, and later, contemporary politics.[3]: 223 [2] Between 1841 and 1851 he published sixty volumes of the literary and scientific journalAthenaeum [pl], printed in Vilna.[8]: 256 [17] From 1836 to 1849 he was a contributor to theTygodnik Petersburski [pl] (St. Petersburg Weekly).[8]: 256 [3]: 223 From 1842 to 1843 he contributed toPielgrzym [pl].[3]: 223 Before 1859 he was a contributor to theGazeta Warszawska.[3]: 224 He was the editor of theGazeta Polska [pl] (1859–62, from 1861, renamed toGazeta Codzienna).[11][3]: 223–224 In the 1860s and 1870s he wrote for, among others,Tygodnik Illustrowany,Kłosy [pl],Bluszcz [pl],Ruch Literacki [pl],Tygodnik Mód i Powieści [pl],Kraj [pl],Biesiada Literacka [pl],Dziennik Poznański,Wiek [pl], andKurier Warszawski.[3]: 227 [5]: 260
While his works of fiction are the most enduring, his scholarly endeavours, primarily in the fields of history (particularly thehistory of Lithuania, andart history) and literary criticism, produced not only journal articles but a number of monogaphs (Wilno od początków jego do roku 1750, 1840–42;Litwa, starożytne dzieje, ustway, język, wiara, obyczaje, pieśni, 1848;Litwa starożytna, 1850;Dante, 1869;Polska w czasie trzech rozbiorów, 1873–1875;Krasicki, 1879); collected volumes of his articles (Studia literackie, 1842;Nowe studia literackie, 1843;Gawędy o literaturze i sztuce, 1857); and collections of primary materials (Pamiętniki Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego, 1870;Listy Jana Śniadeckiego, 1878;Listy Zygmunta Krasickiego, 1882–83).
He was also an editor, supervising publication of works byKazimierz Brodziński (Pisma, 1872–1874) and translations ofShakespeare (Dzieła dramatyczne, 1875–1877).[3]: 224, 227–228
While Kraszewski is best remembered as a writer, he was also an illustrator (he illustrated many of his works) and a painter (he displayed some of his paintings at local art exhibitions, and some were exhibited at others after his death).[1][3]: 227 He also played piano and composed music (Pastusze piosenki -Shephards songs,1845).[3]: 228
He was also a collector, amassing a substantial collection of Polish drawings and etchings, which he sold in 1869 due to financial difficulties.[3]: 227–228
Kraszewski's early works describe the lives of ordinary people, and are thus a proto-Positivist critique ofromantic traditions that focused on heroic individuals.[6][3]: 222 : 226 [11] Danek attributes his focus on reality to inspirations with classic novelists such asCharles Dickens,Honoré de Balzac andNikolai Gogol. While his focus on history is similar to that ofWalter Scott, Danek argues that it is sufficiently different to be considered not a copy of Scott's style. His early novels also show likely influence ofLaurence Sterne,Fryderyk Skarbek,Jean Paul andE. T. A. Hoffmann.[3]: 223, 228
A significant theme in his works was the criticism offeudal relationships, and a number of his novels featured peasant and female heroes.[8]: 257 [12]: 17 [11] His works have been described as leaning liberal-democratic,[11] but not radical.[8]: 257 Danek writes that Kraszewski supported the ideal ofegalitarianism.[3]: 228 He often criticized nobility, particularly aristocracy, as unproductive and degenerative, and praised peasantry and the middle class.[3]: 226, 228
His attitude to religion changed over time. He became more religious after marriage, likely because his relatives and friends of that time included several prominent religious figures, such as bishopsJan Paweł Woronicz andIgnacy Hołowiński and priestStanisław Chołoniewski [pl]). Over time, however, he became opposed to more conservative values aligned with clergy and the church hierarchy (something for which he was criticized by the Pope).[3]: 223, 225–226, 228 [5]: 259
In the realm of politics, he supported the cause of Polish independence, but opposed armed struggle, which in his literary works he depicted as unlikely to succeed. He became more supportive of it in his newspaper polemics after the January Uprising started, effectively accepting it as afait accompli.[3]: 225–226, 228 Some of his novels and articles have been described ascritical of Germany, reflecting a push against the policies ofGermanization; this theme was particularly visible in his novels such asNa Wschodzie (In the East, 1866),Dziadunio (Grandpa, 1869),Mogilna (1871) iNad Spreą (At Sprea, 1874), and many of his historical novels, which covered often antagonisticPolish-German relations (ex.Polish-Teutonic Wars).[3]: 226 [18] Others werecritical of Russia; in particular hisRachunki Bolesławity (Bolesławita's accounts,1867) portrayed Russia as a primitive, barbaric country.[5]: 260 [19] He also criticized Russian ideology ofpanslavism, aiming at unifying all Slavic lands, and supported self-determination for Belorussians and Ukrainians.[18] As one of the major themes of his works was Lithuania, and his works, although written in Polish, are seen as contributing to theLithuanian National Revival.[8]: 256
Kraszewski's works were adapted into numerous dramas;Stanisław Moniuszko composed music for the drama version ofAnafielas [pl] third part,Witolorauda.[3]: 228
The first of his books to be adapted for film wasChata za wsią, adapted intoCyganka Aza [pl] (1926).[3]: 228 The second wasHrabina Cosel, resulting inCountess Cosel (1968), directed byJerzy Antczak, withJadwiga Barańska in the title role.[20][3]: 228 Twenty years later, inEast Germany, theDEFA presented a six-part television series, theSaxon Trilogy [de], including a new version ofGräfin Cosel, directed byHans-Joachim Kasprzik.[21] In 2003,Stara Baśń was adapted to the movieAn Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God, directed byJerzy Hoffman.[22]
Monuments to Kraszewski exist inBiała Podlaska (Józef Ignacy Kraszewski's bench in Biała Podlaska [pl]) andKrynica-Zdrój (Kraszewski's bench in Krynica-Zdrój [pl]); many other places feature memorial plaques dedicated to him.[5]: 260
Since 1960, his former home in Dresden has been theKraszewski-Museum [de].[23][5]: 260 Another museum dedicated to him was opened in 1962 inRomanów (theJózef Ignacy Kraszewski Museum in Romanów [pl]).[1][5]: 260
Jan i Zofia mieli pięcioro dzieci, z których Józef Ignacy był najstarszy
Media related toJózef Ignacy Kraszewski at Wikimedia Commons
