Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, an English Writer with a Polish Soul: Joseph Conrad’s Polish Heritage
Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, an English Writer with a Polish Soul: Joseph Conrad’s Polish Heritage
Author(s): Joanna SkolikSubject(s): Cultural history, Polish Literature, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture, Identity of Collectives, British Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski; Polish soul; English writer; Polish identity; chivalric tradition; Polish Eastern Borderlands;
Summary/Abstract: The article presents a portrait of Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, an English writer with a Polish soul. Conrad—the last Polish Romantic—did not only manage to introduce Polish dreams and longings into English (and Western) literature, but also transformed the Polish experience into a universal one. Writing about exotic, faraway places, he disseminated myths concerning Polish national identity, chivalric tradition and the Polish Eastern Borderland atmosphere and ethos. Conrad, a very demanding writer, never presents ready-made answers, nor does he offer simple solutions to the problems of his protagonists. Moreover, everybody can understand Conrad in their own personal way, for he is perceived as “one of us,” no matter who “we” are.
Journal: Yearbook of Conrad Studies (Poland)
- Issue Year: 2018
- Issue No: XIII
- Page Range: 119-128
- Page Count: 10
- Language: English