CC BY
13
UDC 008.001
Ewa Kosowska
Professor, PhD hab.
University of Silesia,
Katowice, Poland
E-mail: ewa.kosowska@us.edu.pl
ORCID: 0000-0003-4994-1517
HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ -CULTURAL CAUSES BEHIND GROWTH AND CRISIS OF HIS POPULARITY1
Abstract. Henryk Sienkiewicz belonged to the circle of most vastly read writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was popular not only in Poland, but also abroad; his historical and contemporary novels were published in large numbers and were translated into all European, as well as some non-European, languages. Received in 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature confirmed the artistic rank of his writings and caused the further growth of his popularity. He was valued especially in conservative circles for his approving attitude towards national traditions and values of European culture. This acclaim was not harmed by critical voices expressed by the advocates of civilizational progress, who accused him of backwardness and holding back the inevitable changes in social life. This situation lasted practically until the last quarter of the 20th century.
Then, a quite radical turn took place, and Sienkiewicz began to lose popularity both in Poland and abroad. The author of this article seeks reasons behind this phenomenon in a series of cultural and civilizational changes that were taking place in Europe from the end of 18th century, and towards the end of 20th century became universal and irreversible. During his life, Sienkiewicz gained popularity by his reactions to the, at the time, most visible changes. His works, referring to the past while simultaneously familiarizing the new and controversial, were highly popular. This streak continued for several decades after the writer's death. But in hundred years after the publication of his first historical novels (Trylogia [The Trilogy]) the next generations of readers were slowly stopping to understand his message. Sienkiewicz started to lose his popularity since the moment when multicultural changes in European culture radically influenced the reality, and effects of those changes highly remoulded axiological system and preferences of the young generation.
Keywords: Henryk Sienkiewicz, crisis of popularity, cultural and civilizational changes
For citing: Kosowska E. 2021. Henryk Sienkiewicz - Cultural Causes Behind Growth and Crisis of His Popularity. Culture and Arts Herald. No 4 (68): 46-54.
1. Applaud of Tradition and Beginning of Popularity
Popularity of Henryk Sienkiewicz's writings was built during several phases. As a fairly young person, under the pseudonym „Litwos," he wrote columns and reportages enough well-read, that Editors of „Gazeta Polska" ["Polish Newspaper"] decided to entrust to him the role of being a correspondent. Letters from journey to America, published periodically under his own
1 This article was prepared as part of a research project, NCN project no.: 2012/06/A/HS/00252.
name, brought acclaim to the author [20]. His style gained recognition and attracted new readers to „Gazeta Polska" ["Polish Newspaper"]. For the young journalist a visit to the United States was simultaneously an opportunity for performing a comparison of the New and Old World's cultures [15; 16].
Sienkiewicz was a keen observer, able to analyse the observed phenomena. Among others, he noted that the new state, vigorously created after the Civil War, had to build a new type of community. In Europe of the second half of 19th century the process of implementation of the new
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technical inventions was ongoing, industrialisation and modernisation of transport started to take place, but simultaneously the centuries-old traditions were still important, especially the material heritage tracing back to antiquity, customs stemming from state divisions, law that still held the privileges of certain groups and individuals. Meanwhile, in America was taking place an intense work to shape one nation - American nation - from the newcomers who came from different parts of the world, spoke different languages, grew up in different environments, and had different value systems built on different religious traditions. As follows from Sienkiewicz's observations, already during the 1870s this new community was being built on the primacy of English language, modern technological inventions, law that had its roots in American constitution, democratic system that promoted equality before law (although it mostly applied to the white settlers) and a respect for individual abilities and skills, which, theoretically, allowed everyone to go "from shoeshine boy to millionaire." This enormous country of almost limitless possibilities, fascinating to hundreds of thousands of newcomers from various parts of the world, after taking a closer look had not only a bright side, but also a darker one. Sienkiewicz brought attention to the tragic fate of the native Indians, and to the incredibly difficult living conditions of the poor and uneducated emigrees, who arrived here with great hopes, yet without knowledge of the language, moneyless, and without abilities which could be used to their advantage, therefore living in destitution and dying in poverty.
Images from America published in „Gazeta Polska" ["Polish Newspaper"] brought admirers to the author, after his return to the country he was a recognised writer. But his stay overseas made him realise that democracy also means a resignation of the ancient customs and habits, that equality before the law means not only a gain but also a loss of many previous privileges, that acceptance of a common language means bidding farewell to the mother tongue and its regional and local variants. Sienkiewicz, who showed clear sympathies for democracy before leaving for the United States, became a declared conservative after his return. To the amazement of many contemporaries, he opted for national
traditions and a system of values built on the gentry culture [18]. He began to publish a cycle of historical novels which brought him true fame. A few of the "progressive positivists" saw those novels as a source of endangerment; they warned that a fascination with history in times of rapid scientific and technological development meant a regress in relation to other states and nations. Yet Sienkiewicz, richer in his American experience, knew that a radical civilizational change could improve an individual life, but also destroy the sense of national community. For Poles, at the time living under partitions, disregarding the connection with the past in favour of the fascination with the achievements of science and technology meant denationalization, a loss of hope of regaining their own state. The writer then made an effort to reevoke the difficult times, full of military and diplomatic defeats, but not without spectacular victories. The success of the Trylogia [Trilogy] (1884-1888) clearly reveals that the novels written over many years "to soothe the hearts" were truly needed.
2. Towards the Present Day
However, Sienkiewicz did not remain indifferent to the present day problems. He referred to them in many novellas and a few novels, which gained acclaim from the readers and soon began to be translated into foreign languages. The form of a novella was best fitted for drawing attention to singular, seemingly minor phenomena. Based on the descriptions of episodes in the lives of individuals: children, women, men from different social strata and environments, Sienkiewicz, like many other writers of this time, advocated for modification of customs, habits, and the law. In his novels, he emphasized the process of changes that took place within the span of several or several dozen years; he depicted the ill preparedness to face those changes, or on contrary - he made his protagonists not only the followers of the progress, but also representatives of the new social class, to which belonged great industrialists, factory owners, merchants, and bankers. „Na marne" ["In Vain"] (1872), „Bez dogmatu" ["Without a Dogma"] (1891), „Rodzina Polanieckich" ["The Polaniecki Family"] (1894), and written much later „Wiry" ["Whirls"] (1910),
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are contemporary novels which brought him true notability. He became an esteemed and popular writer, and an actual authority. He expressed his opinions on the topic of international affairs [25]. Social diagnoses contained in his works were convincing not only to Polish readers, but met with understanding also in Russia, Germany, England, France, and many other countries. At the end of the 19th century the problem of familiarization of the European societies with civilizational changes, results of the scientific and technical progress, affected almost everyone. In Sienkiewicz's novels could be found warnings and advices, parallels of human fate as well as hope for solving one's own problems. Stylistically attractive, interesting in terms of composition, contemporary novels by Sienkiewicz, important due to the context of the fate of the characters, strengthened his position as a famous writer in Europe [18]. The period of their publishing was characterized by many years of stability, assured, for example, by the rule of Queen Victoria, Franz Joseph, Wilhelm II, or the Romanovs. It was also the time where a common man had to face the new law and new administrative solutions, new inventions such as the railways, steam engine used on an industrial scale, daguerreotype and photography, telegraph, kerosene lamp, gas and electric lighting etc. The order in which those inventions were made was one thing, whereas the speed and ways in which they were distributed and the degree of their dissemination was another. The protagonists of the contemporary novellas and novels of Sienkiewicz had different social origins, level of education, property status, sensibility, and skills. They encountered technical innovations and reacted to them in various ways. The reader who followed them could effortlessly find parallels with lives of their relatives, neighbours, and acquaintances, they could also familiarize themselves with new difficulties, the coming of which they had no doubts about.
On the Polish lands Sienkiewicz was at the time one of the most widely-read writers, and this readership was considered to be a sign of a dangerous fascination with what is known, safe and close by advocates of progress [4]. But during Sienkiewicz's lifetime the advocates of tradition in Europe had an advantage.
3. Universalism of „Quo vadis"
True international fame came with a monumental novel describing the times of first Christians. He unveiled in it an excellent knowledge of the Roman culture from the first half of the 1st century C.E. The complicated story of the two main protagonists, the Christian hostage Lygia and Vinicius, who as a patrician and officer undergoes in novel a great spiritual transformation, were presented against the background of a wide panorama of political relations, courtly intrigues, moral changes, religious conflicts, etc. While the previous novels and novellas by Sienkiewicz were strongly rooted in the vernacular culture and focused on the problems familiar to Poles, „Quo vadis" was characterized by a tendency to put forward problems close to almost anyone: love, freedom, friendship, betrayal, conformism, ambition, lust of power, fear of death, sacrificing one's life for an idea, the tragedy of making a choice. Simultaneously it was a work perceived as a great epic about the beginnings of Christianity. First martyrs of the monotheistic religion, depicted in conflict with the polytheists who did not understand the idea of monotheism itself, were a great, collective protagonist of the novel about the birth of fundamental value system of modern Europe. The novel, published in 1896 was quickly translated into European and non-European languages. Soon after its publication the writer received a Noble Prize for his lifetime achievements in literature.
4. Sienkiewicz in Encyclopaedias
Undoubtedly, from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, with the emergence of a modern form of encyclopaedia, placing a writer's name in such a compendium was some measure of his popularity. In the 19th century in encyclopaedias were placed information on historical figures. Later, information on notable living persons were appearing more often in encyclopaedias and lexicons. Henryk Sienkiewicz, who died in 1916, was undeniably a renowned figure already during his lifetime, a world-class writer who certainly deserved to be remembered [19]. This is indicated by a short entry in volume 13 of the Polish Encyklopedia Orgelbranda [Orgelbrand's Encyclopaedia] published in 1902 [12]. In that compendium the
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writer's name appeared for the first time. A much more extensive entry was later published by Ultima Thule [13]. The Noble Prize reinforced the artistic position of the writer. From that time onwards Sienkiewicz's name started to frequently appear in multi-volume encyclopaedias, specialized thematic dictionaries, and reference lexicons around the world, which undoubtedly affected the reception of his works. However, initially those were mostly brief pieces of information, often containing only one sentence. Only after the World War II the encyclopaedias began to feature vaster entries dedicated to the Polish writer. We find them in Soviet compendiums, which is understandable, since Sienkiewicz's works were popular in both Russia, and the Soviet Union. Helena Z. Cybienko wrote a lot about the reception of his works [5]. In the 1960s, Sienkiewicz's name was mentioned in Norwegian [1], German [3], French [6; 14; 22], English [26], Romanian [7], Italian [8], Czech [17], Spanish [9; 11], as well as Argentinian [23] and Mexican [10] encyclopaedias. For the next twenty years Sienkiewicz held his position in world compendiums, although the popularity of his works, also in Poland, was undeniably declining. Today, the main source of information are Internet encyclopaedias, particularly Wikipedia, in which more extensive entries dedicated to Polish writers are written in English; this is true also in Sienkiewicz's case. The Internet Encyclopaedia Britannica has a very interesting multimedia appearance, with a vast entry devoted to the Polish Nobel Prize winner.
5. The Dusk of Popularity
Meanwhile, the dusk of Sienkiewicz's popularity in Poland began in the 1970s and 1980s. This phenomenon was caused by such occurrences, discussed by the writer's researchers, as i.a., a change in patriotism model, changes in the model of education related to the end of classical gymnasiums, and, maybe foremost, historical changes of the Polish language. During the World War II Sienkiewicz's novels were a model of approach to life and model of patriotism. Throughout the fights with the Nazi occupiers, young people used pseudonym referring to the names of Sienkiewicz's protagonists in their conspiratorial activities. An analysis of the
pseudonyms clearly shows the acceptance of mindsets and behavioural patterns, the romantic provenance of which was supported by the Old Polish tradition, preserved by the writer in his historical novels. During the interwar period, in the process of education, both at school and at home, the models were introduced systematically, young people often identified themselves with protagonists of the novels and regarded their patriotic mindsets and behaviours as worthy of following. Although even at the time patriotism was already associated also with work for the homeland, due to which Poland made a huge civilizational leap during the interwar period, the war brought the defence of the attacked country to the fore. After the war and political changes a question was born: "Is Sienkiewicz needed in a homeland of worker and farmer?". This type of ideological dogmatism did not stand the test of time in Poland; very fast novels of the first Polish Noble Prize winner started to be published in thousands of copies, since people of all social classes were interested in them. Some of the readers came from gentry and intelligentsia, but some were learning to read on Sienkiewicz's works. Interestingly, the style and language of his writings, even if not completely understandable, was certainly familiar. This familiarity was caused by at least two factors. First of them, was the functioning in Poland of 1950s classical gymnasiums, in which learning Latin and Greek was mandatory (in some Polish secondary schools, learning Latin is still possible today, but only a few graduates choose this language on the matura exam). The educated readers, especially those educated in classical gymnasiums, could easily handle the historical syntax of the Polish language as well as the stylization of the macaronic Polish language. It was indeed a stylization, and it is appropriate to agree with the observation made by Jerzy Axer:
Let us now compare the macaronic language of the Trylogia [Trilogy] with the macaronic language of the epoch's sources. Firstly, it is extremely diluted macaronic language. For example, Pasek's course of narration is interspersed with Latin two or three times more densely than Sienkiewicz's. Simultaneously, in other sources (e.g., in sejmik files, letters, speeches), Latin appears not only more often, but also at key
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moments for understanding the argument, as a specific punch line. For Sienkiewicz, the opposite is true. Whoever does not understand the Latin insertion does not lose orientation in the course of events [2].
The second factor was not yet taken into consideration by researchers of Sienkiewicz's works: namely, the liturgy in Latin language. Since the 16th century the Tridentine Rite bonded the catholic community all over the world, gave a sense of familiarity in every temple, was often a refuge for the emigrants. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth it became an instrument for democratisation: church was open for anyone, without regards to their social and material status, a peasant or a burgher could pray there alongside the gentry, even though the place taken within the church itself was traditionally fixed and reflected the social estate. Liturgy acquainted with the Latin language, even if it was not completely understandable for uneducated people, it gave a sense of importance of spoken words, familiarized with their sound, and encouraged the sacralization of utterances. This allows to understand why Sienkiewicz's novels were for a long time extremely popular even among the poorly educated or even illiterates, who awaited the next fragments to be read out loud. Familiarization of the liturgic Latin allowed even the recent illiterate to discover in the narration, stylized on 17th century macaronic Polish, phrases well-known and dear, phrases which they did not always understand, but nonetheless regarded as important and exceptional: Te Deum laudamus, laudetur Jesus Christus, sursum corda. After the Second Vatican Council, the Latin liturgy was replaced by the liturgy in the vernacular languages (the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - Sacrosanctum Concilium, enacted on November 22, 1963), and thus began a process of in-depth participation in the mass and listening with understanding to the words of the celebrant. However, it was also a significant break with former tradition. Not only with the tradition of the Tridentine Rite, but also tradition connecting it to the national culture. The young generation no longer understood the meaning of Latin words, stopped feeling into them, and did not associate them with the sphere of sacrum. "Where the heritage of the ancestors ceases to be respected,
where the contact with tradition is lost, the sacred symbols also lose their meaning and seem to be only decals of long-forgotten times" [21]. The relationship between the change of liturgical language and the regression of popularity of Sienkiewicz's historical novels requires in-depth research. Since the mid-1970s, there is an increase of signals about the difficulties that students at Polish schools have in understanding the writer's works. In the 1990s, his historical novels are no longer included in the compulsory reading sets, and it is not always possible to find them among supplementary readings. The novel that remained on those lists the longest was „Krzyzacy" ["The Knights of the Cross"], written in a language stylized on medieval, but the obligation of reading excerpts of a verbally and plot-complicated work by primary school students is assessed as a misguided directive. In contemporary Polish intensive changes are taking place; the historical message ceases to be legible and arouses the reluctance of the next generation of young people, who are much more open to neologisms and the introduction of English-language terminology, than to attempts to understand the rhythm and sense of the Latin phrase.
Since the mid-1990s, problems with the acceptance of Sienkiewicz's novels have increased considerably. Supporters of the tradition have the right to ask the question:
6. Is a Renaissance of Epics in the Age
of Internet Possible?
There is naturally no definite answer to this question, since contemporary media are overflowing with historical stories, fantasy stories, science-fiction, epic family sages, etc. But those are film stories, image plays a leading part in them, and the word is maximally reduced in favour of music. The soundtracks in dubbed films often hide significant differences between the characters' original phrases and their translations; this incompatibility can be seen more clearly in movies with subtitles. A film story is something entirely different from epic in a classical sense, based on a word and a specific type of imagination [24]. Among the next generations of Internet users, a clear crisis of historical and linear thinking can be observed. The optimal way of
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using the Internet requires different competences. History for the young generation is first and foremost a history of downloading, searching, something checked incidentally. Linear thinking is an obstacle in jumping from topic to topic, from one application to another. Information that interests the Internet user becomes a "cookie" and indicates that they can be bombarded with similar ones at any time. Probably no one who surfs the Internet for several hours would be able to create a coherent story about their adventures. Contemporary Odysseuses, often thrown for a split second on an unknown island, have a chance of an immediate return. They settle for "tweeting", short posts, text messages, and generally have short conversations on social media. It can hardly be regarded as an epic, much less can anyone demand from a person of such competence to find pleasure in reading long historical novels. Of course, there are exceptions, but these mostly confirm the rule. The novel is revived for a while when it is filmed. It could be said that the crisis of Sienkiewicz's popularity transformed into indifference towards his literary proposal. There would be nothing noteworthy about it, if not for the fact that it was Sienkiewicz who, for a long time, was a bridge linking the contemporary appearances of Polish culture with its historical background. Disregarding this background and this bridge means giving up the possibility of knowing and understanding what constitutes the basis of national identity.
However, it should be taken into account that -contrary to all declarations - understanding the historical background of behaviours connected to identity may become increasingly difficult and less needed with time. In recent decades, individual consciousness has been shaped under the influence of different traditions and different value systems. This makes the coherent world presented in Sienkiewicz's novels seem naive in its uniqueness and homogeneity to many readers, especially young ones. In turn, the educated recipient - under the influence of presentism, constructivism, and the latest trends in postmodern philosophy - becomes increasingly aware of the narrative, multi-version dimension of history, and seeks confirmation of their knowledge in literature. The need to create an integral world
of the past appears to be fading away, thus it is difficult to predict if, and when, the popularity of Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel may experience its renaissance.
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Received 20.09.2021
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Е. Косовска
профессор, хабилитированный доктор гуманитарных наук (Dr hab.)
Силезский университет, Катовице, Польша
E-mail: ewa.kosowska@us.edu.pl
ORCID: 0000-0003-4994-1517
Генрик Сенкевич - культурные причины расцвета и кризиса популярности
Генрик Сенкевич принадлежал к одним из самых читаемых писателей XIX и XX вв. Он пользовался большой популярностью не только в Польше, но и за рубежом; его исторические и современные романы издавались большими тиражами и переводились на все европейские и некоторые неевропейские языки.
Полученная в 1905 г. Нобелевская премия по литературе подтвердила высокий художественный уровень его произведений и способствовала дальнейшему росту их популярности. Писателя особенно ценили в консервативных кругах за одобрительное отношение к национальным традициям и ценностям европейской культуры.
Критические суждения сторонников цивилизационного прогресса, обвинявших его в регрессе и сдерживании неизбежных изменений в общественной жизни, не смогли навредить этой популярности. Так продолжалось практически до последней четверти ХХ в. Затем произошел довольно радикальный поворот, и Сенкевич стал быстро терять популярность как в Польше, так и за рубежом. Автор статьи видит причины этого явления в ряде культурных и цивилизационных изменений, начавшихся в Европе с конца XVIII в., а в конце XX в. ставших повсеместными и необратимыми. При жизни Сенкевич набирал популярность, реагируя на самые заметные изменения своего времени.
Произведения, в которых он обращался к прошлому и одновременно делал привычным новое и неоднозначное, были очень востребованы. Этот тренд продолжался несколько десятилетий после смерти писателя. Однако спустя сто лет после публикации первых исторических романов («Трилогия») сменяющие друг друга поколения читателей постепенно перестали понимать его послание. Сенкевич начал терять популярность с того момента, когда разнонаправленные изменения, происходящие в культуре Европы, кардинально повлияли на действительность, а последствия этих изменений во многом трансформировали систему ценностей и предпочтений молодого поколения.
Ключевые слова: Генрик Сенкевич, кризис популярности, культурные и цивилизаци-онные изменения
Для цитирования: Kosowska E. Henryk Sienkiewicz - Cultural Causes Behind Growth and Crisis of His Popularity [Косовска Е. Генрик Сенкевич - культурные причины расцвета и кризиса популярности] / E. Kosowska // Вестник культуры и искусств. - 2021. - № 4 (68). - С. 46-54.
Список литературы
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Получено 2G.G9.2G21
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