‘The Polish Dream’: The Case of the Romantics but Not Only Cover Image
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„Sen polski”: przypadek romantyków i nie tylko
‘The Polish Dream’: The Case of the Romantics but Not Only

Author(s): Michał Kuziak
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Literary Texts, Psychology, Modern Age, 18th Century
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Romanticism; dream; trauma; (post)dependency; Polish depressive-compensatory position

Summary/Abstract: This article proposes the notion of ‘the Polish dream’ as it appears in Polish literature at the end of the eighteenth century. The Romantic period saw the development of this unique phenomenon and its symbolic meanings. ‘The Polish dream’ thrives until this day. At its centre lies the traumatic experience of Polish history (or, rather, a variety of such experiences). The dream makes it possible to relive this experience and at the same time to construct a symbolic field through which it can be understood; this symbolic field also defines the horizon of activities. In Romantic literature, this field is associated with messianism. What emerges as a result is the oneiric depressive-compensatory position, which is essential to Polish identity, and which can be found in the works of Mickiewicz, Słowacki and Krasiński.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 97-121
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Polish