Naturalizm w późnych powieściach Zygmunta Kaczkowskiego
Naturalism in the late novels of Zygmunt Kaczkowski

Summary/Abstract: The text examines Zygmunt Kaczkowski’s late novels against the background of his controversial biography and the Polish debate on naturalism. After being accused in 1866 of acting as an Austrian agent and forced into exile, Kaczkowski withdrew from literary life for over a decade. He returned in the late 1870s, writing in a period dominated by positivism. The analysis focuses on the contemporary novels Count Rak and Zaklika, which intervene directly in discussions of naturalism. For Kaczkowski, naturalism represents a materialistic worldview denying spirituality, morality, and patriotic ideals. In Count Rak, the title character embodies radical materialism, Darwinian struggle, and cosmic determinism, leading to nihilism and moral desolation. Zaklika presents a similarly critical vision through one-dimensional characters and overtly ideological narration. Although these novels are artistically unsuccessful, they are significant as expressions of Kaczkowski’s resistance to secular modernity and as attempts to confront his political past, personal guilt, and growing alienation from contemporary readers.

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