Grażyna. Konrad Wallenrod

by Adam Mickiewicz

Dwie powieści poetyckie wielkiego polskiego poety, dwie historie litewskie o wielkiej miłości, zdradzie i poświęceniu. To tutaj powiedziano o bohaterze "szczęścia nie zaznał w domu, bo go nie było w ojczyźnie". Zdanie to przesądziło o losie co najmniej trzech kolejnych pokoleń. Tragiczna jest historia Grażyny, która musi wybrać między posłuszeństwem małżonki a czynnym oporem wobec kunktatorskich układów jej męża Litawora z Krzyżakami. Tragiczny jest Walter Alf, kiedy powinność wobec ojczyzny każe mu opuścić ukochaną, kiedy jako Konrad Wallenrod, wielki mistrz zakonu krzyżackiego, przyczynia się do złamania jego potęgi. Tragiczne jest jego bohaterstwo naznaczone nieetycznym wyborem. Bo pewnie rację ma Machiavelli, że w walce bywa się lisem lub lwem. Ale w obu wypadkach cena jest ta sama - bezpowrotnie złamane życie.

Genres: Fiction, Polish Literature

151 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 1998

About the author

To a Pole, the name Adam Mickiewicz is emblematic of Polishness and greatness. What Homer is to the Greeks, or Shakespeare to the English, Mickiewicz is to the Poles. He is a cultural icon, a name inextricably connected with Polish literature and history, and one mentioned with pride. Mickiewicz stands out in the consciousness of Poles both as a man of letters and a political leader.

Despite his unquestionable status and fame, however, much of Mickiewicz's biography is shrouded in mystery. Even the generally accepted date of his birth, December 24. 1798, is uncertain, since it hasn't been determined whether it refers to the Gregorian or the Julian calendar. Nor has it been established conclusively whether Mickiewicz was born in Nowogrodek or at Zaosie, a mile or so apart. Many biographical facts, particularly those pertaining to his relationships with women, were deliberately obscured to preserve a flawless public image of the poet. Likewise, his interest in mysticism and involvement in mystical cults tended to be minimized, especially during the years of Communist rule in Poland when the official line was to shun spirituality of any kind, not to expose the poet to ridicule.

Mickiewicz's son. Władysław, can be held partially responsible for this state of affairs, but he is not the only one. Having gained control of his father's papers after the poet's death, Władysław Mickiewicz destroyed various documents which might have potentially tarnished his father's public image. Likewise, many critics and scholars tended to overlook significant facts in the poet's biography, as well as significant themes and issues in his writing, to sustain the idealized view of Mickiewicz as a Polish national bard. This tendency to carefully "whitewash" Mickiewicz is hardly surprising. Born three years after the final partition of Poland, Mickiewicz became a spiritual leader of the Polish nation. An ardent patriot, he animated the Polish national spirit through his poetic, dramatic and political writings, providing hope and spiritual sustenance to Poles under the Russian, Prussian and Austrian rule, as well as to the many exiles, particularly the emigré circles in Paris, where he settled in 1832. Given the history of Poland and the long streak of political oppression and subjugation, the need for heroes and the idealization of Mickiewicz as a leader are perfectly understandable.

Yet already in the 1930s, there were critical voices against the bowdlerization of Mickiewicz's work (since some editions of his works eliminated the more racy passages) and objections were raised against the cover-up in renditions of his biography. The prominent critic, Tadeusz Boy-Źieleński, for instance, in his work "Brązownicy" objected to the distortions of facts and the "sins of omission" in critical writings on Mickiewicz. In recent years, a much more vast and thorough re-examination of Mickiewicz' life and oeuvre has occurred. This is partially due to the overall re-examination of Polish history and Polish literary tradition after the collapse of Communism and, generally. a much greater openness in discussions of various issues previously relegated to the sphere of national taboos. Thus, much has been written lately about the white spots in Mickiewicz's biography. particularly about his mystical leanings and the Jewish origin of his mother. The evidence of Mickiewicz's fascination with mysticism is overwhelming, and there is some basis for the allegation of his mother's Jewishness.

(quoted from Regina Grol's piece posted on InfoPolan, University of Buffalo's website; for continuation see link below)

Reviews

[Karolina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ngl really boring fell asleep while reading it couple of times😪😪😪

[zunia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wallenrod pijak

[Skaiste · Rating 2 out of 5]

mehh… grazina>>konradas valenrodas

[maciej · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skonczylam to. Nareszcie. To wszystkie zmarnowane godziny. Moze i godziny ale te godziny trwaly jak tygodnie, miesiace, lata. Ale nareszcie skonczylam. Wszystko tylko po to, aby główny bohater sie zabil...

[Vidmantas S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knyga is rekomenduojamu 8ams. Anksti, nieko neisliks.
Kai turi toki vaika, gal jau ir visai nieko.

[Eva Kondrotaitė · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knyga su įdomia pabaiga, bet skaityti ne itin buvo įdomu ir smagu, nekabino.

[Ola · Rating 2 out of 5]

,,Konrad Wallenrod” - gdyby nie omówienie i interpretacja nie zrozumiałabym nic poza kilkoma faktami 🥶 spośród lektur zdecydowanie bardziej przystępne są ,,Dziady” 😝 jednak rozumiem zamysł i bardzo doceniam typowy dla romantyzmu synkretyzm! Warto znać takie dzieła.

[evevitkute · Rating 1 out of 5]

just because gražina was a girlboss