Dokąd prowadzą „ścieżki cyganerii”?
Where Do „Bohemian Paths” Lead?

Alleged and Real Protests of Artistic Bohemians (on Selected Examples from the Mid-nineteenth Century)

Author(s): Patrycja Wojda
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Sociology, Polish Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Warsaw bohéme; Parisian bohéme; Murger; Baudelaire; Norwid
Summary/Abstract: In the interpretations of the biographies of bohemian writers as well as bohemian literary characters the act of rebellion is treated as the main trait of the artistic bohemianism. This rebellion seems to be a harmless joke, whereas the bohemian is presented as a jester, overcoming adversities. However, in the studies on bohemianism little attention is paid to the fact that protest of Parisian bohemians, outwardly aimed at bourgeoisie, is marked by a longing for a bourgeois and stable life. The leading French bohemians from the 1840s would most likely abandon that life, which was proved by the biographies of Baudelaire and Murger, the author of the "Scenes of Bohemian Life", as well as peripeteia of the novel’s characters. Likewise, biographies and works of Polish bohemian writers from the turn of 1830s and 1840s are devoid of rebellion. Their attitude is rather pessimistic. They are resigned and aware of their own failure.

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