Józef Korzeniowski (writer)

This article is about the poet, novelist and playwright. For other persons of the same name, see Józef Korzeniowski.

Józef Korzeniowski
Lithography by Maksymilian Fajans (c. 1854)
Born	(1797-03-19)March 19, 1797 Brody
Died	Dresden
Occupation	Playwright, poet, novelist
Era	Period of national insurrections
Movement	Romanticism
Signature
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Józef Korzeniowski (19 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a Polish poet, novelist and playwright. Considered the leading creator of Romantic drama, the most prominent representative of the Biedermeier novel and a master of narrative; a precursor of social realism and the psychological novel, the father of positivist novelism, and the initiator of the Balzacian social panorama in Polish literature; some of his minor works bear the hallmarks of black romanticism, where, however, the elements of horror and the uncanny were subordinated to moral teaching in the Catholic spirit. He is placed alongside Aleksander Fredro as the most outstanding comedy writer of the Romantic era. He contributed to the creation of the so-called "character comedy". Since the 20th century he has been almost forgotten and, as Jerzy Stempowski attests, read only by a narrow circle of scholars.

He was a graduate and later a teacher and professor of Polish literature at the High School in Krzemieniec. Academically, he was preoccupied with the art of pronunciation and poetics, the result of which was a theoretical and literary treatise, A Course in Poetry. After the closing of the Krzemieniec school, he taught classical philology at Kiev University. As a thinker and educator, he preached that only Christian faith and values could ensure happiness.

Initially, his work centered around issues of injustice and revenge, irony of fate and romantic rebellion; the Schillerian drama Carpathian Highlanders, one of the most famous theatrical events of the era, was based on such ideals. These tendencies were accompanied by concern for faithfully painting the psychological images of the characters and promoting appropriate ethical models. Later, Korzeniowski focused on realistic observations concerning the moral and social problems of the nineteenth-century nobility. The author himself referred to it as "the element of the present" and with this term laid the foundation for the mature Polish prose of the Positivist period. Although his novels are judged today as the most valuable part of his oeuvre, the writer's turn to prose was met with harsh criticism from some intellectual circles of the time, accusing Korzeniowski of abandoning the idealism needed by the nation in favor of an examination of ordinary everyday life, of conservatism and of paying homage to the patriarchal model of the family. In his fiction, Korzeniowski revealed himself as an observer of social life and a realist who showed exploitation and injustice, he attributed a major role to God's action in the world, while he understood faith as a necessary virtue.

Biography

He was a pupil at the infima in Zbarazh, and went to the second grade in Chernivtsi. In 1808–1823 he was a student at the Krzemieniec Lyceum. He was particularly influenced by his pronunciation and poetry teacher Alojzy Osiński. Until 1820 he was a tutor to Zygmunt Krasiński. After a few years in Warsaw, in 1823 he returned to Krzemieniec, where he became a high school professor. From 1829 he was a member of the Society of Friends of Science. From 1833 to 1838 he was a lecturer in classical philology at Kiev University, and from 1838 to 1846 he was director of a secondary school in Kharkov. From 1846 he settled in Warsaw. From 1848 he was an inspector and a member of the Council of Education. He was one of the founders of the Central School, as well as the author of the entries to Orgelbrand's 28-volume Universal Encyclopedia (1859–1868). His name is listed in Volume I of 1859 in the list of contributors to the contents of this encyclopedia. In 1863 he left for Dresden. He was buried in the Powązki Cemetery (section 26-1-13).

Kharkiv period of creativity (1825–1845)

Korzeniowski began writing early, while still in his school years. At that time, he wrote not only numerous drafts of stage plays — as yet unperformed —, but also classical odes. Nevertheless, in the early period of his mature work he took up exclusively dramas, with which he pinned his greatest youthful hopes. In this early period of his literary activity, Korzeniowski manifested the characteristics of a romantic artist. Noticing a lot of deficiencies in the Enlightenment theater, and above all its lack of spontaneity and in-depth psychologism, he sided with the young literary faction, taking inspiration mainly from the German period of Storm and Stress. He also translated William Shakespeare's King John.

Attitude towards Romanticism

During his youthful stay in Warsaw, Korzeniowski became acquainted with new currents in literature, especially the German Storm and Stress and Romanticism. At the same time, finding himself in the throes of clashes between classicists and romantics, he himself did not take a firm line of development in any specific direction. In 1821, admittedly, he wrote a number of ballads and dumkas, but they were more sentimental than romantic in nature, even if they benefited from oriental color or elements of the uncanny. However, already two years later, i.e. at the time of the publication of Poem to Morawski, traces of inspiration of Kazimierz Brodziński's famous dissertation, On Classicism and Romanticism, become visible in Korzeniowski's work.

Under the influence of the Romantics, Korzeniowski abandoned for only a short time the primacy of the workshop and painstaking polishing of form inherent in the Enlightenment school. The postulate of spontaneity of creation was apparently not something profound in his performance, since he carefully rewrote his mature works even several times. From the Romantics Korzeniowski undoubtedly took over his contempt for copying European models and his approval of national models, which he expressed directly in the poem Glory of the Poet. Although the writer drew on the inspiration carried by the new trend in literature, he never took the side of "feeling and faith" in the struggle between Adam Mickiewicz and Jan Śniadecki, and later made no secret of his dislike of most Romantic ideals.

Dmitry and Maria

The romantic tragedy Dmitry and Maria (also titled Divination and Vengeance) was written immediately after the completion of Pelopides. Although the staging of the play was preceded by an author's declaration, in which a confession is made about the weariness of constantly writing stage works in the neo-classical spirit, its style and composition did not actually show many innovations. Contemporary scholars often referred to the inconsistency with which Korzeniowski undertook his latest work. For it turned out that the tragedy deserved to be called romantic only in the external sphere, more precisely: in decoration and mood. As for the composition, it still adhered to the norm and convention prevailing in the high culture of the era of the Duchy of Warsaw, and known from such works as Alojzy Feliński's Barbara Radziwillowna. In fact, he succeeded in consciously overcoming this classicist mannerism only in his next play, Beautiful Woman (also titled Beauty's Doom). Critics have often accused Korzeniowski's tragedy of lacking a dramatic clash of irresolvable rationales, a struggle of passions, and instead, of frequently falling into a moral, the message of which spoke of the possibility of repentance and reconciliation, even in the darkest situations of life. Hence, some scholars claim that Dmitry and Maria is a piece bordering on tragedy rather than tragedy stricto sensu. However, this did not prevent the work from gaining recognition and fame.

The theme of Dmitry and Maria was well known to audiences of the time, and gained literary popularity especially through Antoni Malczewski's poetic adaptation, Maria. Maria loves Dmitry with reciprocity, but a shadow of doom hangs over the heads of both of them from the beginning: she is eventually drowned in a pond by those opposed to the relationship. The author gives the whole intrigue psychological depth. The governor, the main perpetrator of the murder, is more an instrument of fate than a criminal by sheer force of will; moreover, he is not one of the demonic figures that dark romanticism was fond of. In the end, he too suffers a severe punishment for his not entirely culpable act: his beloved son commits suicide. The situation becomes even more complicated when we learn the motives of the Governor's actions. This was because they were convinced of the possibility of a better marriage for his firstborn. All this makes Dmitry and Maria the first tragedy of injustice in Korzeniowski's work. With all this, there are elements of mystery and horror: divination, bad premonitions, fear of revenge. Dmitry's rival for Maria's hand, Stefan, reminiscent of the "villain" from gothic novels, and the gypsy woman who takes revenge for her injustice and always augurs only misery, are guests on the stage. The stigma of explicit stylization was also carried by the stage decor. In Act V scene 1, the description reads: "Place on the banks of the Bug River. Night. It thunders and flashes."

Carpathian Highlanders

Korzeniowski, print on albumen paper (c. 1860)

Even during Korzeniowski's lifetime, the publication of a drama about the Hutsuls, Carpathian Highlanders, was considered a high point in the writer's work. The work — set on a specific ethnographic and social background — was created on the line of romantic fascination with folk heroes, inhabitants of the mountains and forests dispensing justice, rebelling against human injustice, an ideal realized in such works as Walter Scott's Rob Roy and, above all, Friedrich Schiller's The Robbers. The main character, a highlander named Antoś, is unlawfully conscripted into the army thanks to the envious Prokop. When insults and harm fall on his widowed mother, the hucul deserts and commits murder against his persecutor. Having no other choice, he joins a band of brigands, abandoning his bride, who loses her mind out of desperation. The work is thus a drama of passions and great ideas, strongly moralizing, although at one time accused by some of immorality. Particularly strong emotions were evoked by the final scene of the work, in which the faithful and good-hearted Maximus, out of pity for Praxedda, who is crazed by the loss of her beloved, drowns her in a pond. At the time of the first premieres, there were voices of outrage over such a drastic ending.

Carpathian Highlanders turned out to be Korzeniowski's first mature and independent drama. Breaking close ties with classicist conventions, the author focused on authenticity, "the breath of truth," thus siding with the Romantic camp. The first staging of Carpathian Highlanders initially became one of the biggest cultural events of the era; Zygmunt Krasinski admitted to shedding tears at the emotional scenes, actors such as Antoni Benza and literary critics of such stature as Edward Dembowski and Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki were also delighted. "Korzeniowski's drama in the first, direct contact with the reader made a shocking impression and moved deeply. Although there were critical voices, especially with regard to structural flaws, in popular opinion the work rose to the rank of a masterpiece and immediately found its way into the textbooks of the history of Polish literature. Contemporary critics note that it is Korzeniowski's ideologically deepest, most sublime and most perfectly crafted drama.

The stanzas of the still-famous song "Red Belt" (without refrain) come from the Carpathian Highlanders.

Marian Karol Dubiecki devoted several pages of the last chapter of his book In and Beyond the Borderlands to the Kharkiv period of the Korzeniowski's life.

Warsaw period of creativity (1846–1863)

During this period Korzeniowski, more strongly than before, emphasized his belief in moral order. At the same time, critics accused him of excessive approval of the patriarchal family model. This is because the writer, especially in his first two novels, took as his protagonist the character of a young girl in a situation in which she had to submit to her parents' decisions. In The Speculator, such obedience saved Clara from misfortune, while in Collocation Kamila's disobedience, manifested in criticism of her father's bad behavior, had to go through expiation so that the heroine could experience happiness by the side of her beloved.

The Speculator and Collocation

Korzeniowski's first novel, The Speculator (1845), marked the most important caesura in his career, which was the abandonment of the theater in favor of realistic prose. Many of his previous admirers regretfully reproached him for this conversion. To this day it divides the opinions of literary historians. Although the author himself explained it by the declining level of theatrical productions in Poland and the hostility of stage managers towards his latest plays, in essence the point was that Korzeniowski — increasingly involved in contemporary problems — found in the novel a new potential for his moral instructions and psychological observations. In order to be as close to reality as possible, he looked exclusively at the times of his contemporaries (the theory of the "element of the present") and abandoned the sentimental paradigm that had been common until then, creating rather in the spirit of Balzac and Dickens.

The Speculator did not yet foreshadow the epic momentum of Relatives; here the author focused on one family, rather than the entire social panorama. The novel's theme is the life and downfall of Augustus Molicki, a matrimonial speculator and dowry hunter, whose story became the basis for Korzeniowski's study of the ethical harmony that rules the world. Particular emphasis was placed on the experiences of Clara, who falls in love with the speculator and deludes herself as to his innocence. The characters of the eccentrics Peter the poet and Kasper the cynical philosopher were also exposed. "I always choose such subjects that would give me reason to discover what interesting side of the heart or mind," the author wrote. The novel was a great success.

A year later appeared Korzeniowski's next moral novel, Collocation (1847), in which the author expanded his area of interest. In addition to the love and family plot (carefully crafted psychological profiles), the theme of the work became the birth of Polish capitalism, which destroys age-old values and is based on exploitation and injustice. The glue of the work is the romance between Kamila and Jozef, who cannot reconcile due to the conflict of the two families. In turn, the substrate is commercial and economic interests, placed higher than affection in the modern world. However, the whole story is imbued with optimism, as it ends with a picture of family happiness as a reward for the virtue of patience. In Korzeniowski's first two novels, completely new tendencies are revealed: the writer's area of interest has moved to the city. At the same time, although the author of The Speculator abandoned drama in favor of writing realistic prose, his novels are characterized by stage drama, both in terms of building the plot and in the sphere of composition. It happened that Korzeniowski in later times explicitly called his narratives "narrative drama".

The Hunchback

Korzeniowski's conversion related to a change in literary genre was considered by many to be a waste of talent. At the time, the novel was considered a field of inferior literary activity, while drama was considered the most noble manifestation of genius. It therefore required Korzeniowski himself to join the discussion on the place and meaning of the novel.

In 1853, Korzeniowski's next novel, The Hunchback, hit the bookstores. Its significance for realist prose was twofold: at the same time it put forward a well-defined and already mature program of psychological realism and at the same time it focused on the problem of social prejudice and the unhappy love of an artist. The protagonist of the work is a flawed painter experiencing torment because of unrequited affection for a woman. Spurned because of his disgusting appearance, he suffers a personal defeat, but also one related to the too heavy burden placed on him by his creative genius.

The twelfth chapter of the novel contains the manifesto of the "organic program." In it, Korzeniowski postulates a realistic portrayal of Polish society, both its glories and shadows, without idealization or psychological simplifications.

Novels, short stories and sketches

Monument to Joseph Korzeniowski in Brody, located at the edge of the city garden called "Rojekówka"

Jozef Korzeniowski is best known as the author of novels and dramas, but a certain part of his work is also occupied by small writing forms: poems, sketches, short stories and novellas. A total of 24 were published, and two remain in manuscript. The author liked this type of work, which, due to its modest size, required discipline and brevity. In 1858, in a letter to Karol Estreicher, he wrote: "I like this type of composition. It is difficult, although it has slim limits, and that is perhaps why it is alluring to me, that I have no competitors."

Relatives

The four-volume novel Relatives is considered Korzeniowski's finest work and the pinnacle of his prose abilities. It is at the same time the most extensive social panorama in the writer's oeuvre, as well as — in the opinion of the vast majority of literary historians — the most outstanding example of a moral novel of Polish Romanticism. According to Kazimierz Wyka, its ideological and aesthetic layer, ahead of its time, already belonged to the "arsenal of future positivist thought."

The main message of the work, set like Collocation in capitalist reality, was the superiority of practical action over national uprisings, of reason over dreams. Its axis is the fate of two brothers, the first of whom takes a job as a craftsman. The author gives this decision not only a practical meaning, but also a moral one (departure from capitalist exploitation, autonomous decision-making about one's own fate and the ethos of honest work). In doing so, Korzeniowski's teaching is revealed "in a whole series of directly made offhand remarks, warnings, instructions or rebukes." In the picture of all social strata of 19th-century Warsaw, the craftsmen's milieu, with its attachment to the peculiarity and national customs, comes to the fore.

Throughout his prose activity, Korzeniowski steadily expanded his field of observation and circle of interest. This tendency was towards the creation of a novel-synthesis. Thus, Relatives was the culmination of these very aspirations of the writer. It was intended that Korzeniowski's adventure with prose would end with the publication of this novel. However, he felt a sense of inadequacy, since seven years after its printing, and a few months before his death, he was planning a new novel that "was to cover the various classes of our society in their most vital concerns." At one time, Relatives was admired by Eliza Orzeszkowa, who gave Korzeniowski the position of a master of realism. The work proved to be a precursor to the early positivist novel.

Legacy

In his hometown Brody a street was named after Jozef Korzeniowski, where in 1898 a monument to him by sculptor Antoni Popiel was unveiled next to Rojekówka Park, while on the centenary of the writer's birth on July 21, 1897 a plaque dedicated to him was unveiled in Stare Brody. After Poland regained its independence, the authorities of the Second Polish Republic on December 31, 1920 approved the name of Józef Korzeniowski for the State Middle School in Brody.

Works

Poetry

• Drzewko złamane (1821)
• Ostatnia praca (1821)
• Światełko (1821)
• Tren Omnii w dolinie Beder (1821)
• Chwała poety (1821)

Plays

• Mnich (1830)
• Źydzi (1843)
• Panna mężatka (1844)
• Andrzéj Batory (1946)
• Pośredniczka (1846)
• Autorka (1849)
• Majster i czeladnik (1851)
• Dwaj mężowie (1851)
• Qui pro quo (1851)
• Sąd przysięgłych albo Pozory (1853)
• WąŞy i peruka (1855)
• Gentile Bellini (1856)
• Cyganie (1857)
• Majątek albo imię (1859)
• Beata (1860)
• Śpiący Kupidyn (1861)

Novels and short stories

• Spekulant (1845)
• Kollokacja (1846; 1847)
• Nowe wędrówki oryginała (1850)
• Garbaty (1853)
• Krewni (1857)

References

• Bilenky, Serhiy (2008). "The Clash of Mental Geographies: Poles on Ukraine, Ukrainians on Poland in the Time of Romanticism," The Polish Review, Vol. LIII, No. 1 , pp. 73–95.
• Bilenky, Serhiy (2011–2014). "Inventing an Ancient City: How Literature, Ideology, and Archeology Refashioned Kyiv during the 1830s and 1840s," Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Vol. XXXII/XXXIII, pp. 107–26.
• Kawyn, Stefan (1978). Józef Korzeniowski studia i szkice. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Łódzkie.
• Korzeniowski, Józef (1954). Dzieła wybrane. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie.
• Najder, Zdzislaw (1970). "The Development of the Polish Novel: Functions and Structure," Slavic Review, Vol. XXIX, No. 4, pp. 651–62.
• Widmann, Karol (1868). Józef Korzeniowski: studjum literackie. Lwów: Nakladem Autora.
• Witkowska, Alina; Ryszard Przybylski (1997). Romantyzm. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo PWN.

External links

• Works by Józef Korzeniowski at Gallica
• Works by Józef Korzeniowski at Open Library