Isolations and deviations... On Sienkiewicz, nation and (turbo)patriotism

Abstract

The article presents a critical analysis of Latarnik by Henryk Sienkiewicz and its reception in the school environment. The interpretation of the short story overlaps with a model of Polish patriotism which draws its inspiration from the 19th century. The model still seems to be publicly supported, also by the reformed school, despite the fact that it stands in opposition to current geopolitical, economic and social situation. Such an ever-present romantic concept along with polonocentric trends provoke a reflection on Polish presence in the modern, multicultural, dynamically changing world. What becomes the focal point of the article is the conflict between two systems chich intertwine with the main character’s life – the universal, existential system versus local (national), thus, Polish-oriented one. This sets the Pole against the world. The author also points out to a mystical and Eucharistic character of the final part of Latarnik – it idealizes a sudden wave of nostalgia felt by Skawiński. In this way Polishness acquires a status of sacrum while the narrator-ideologist defeats the narrator-psychologist and thinker. Axiologically and anthropologically-wise, the main character appears as “a product of Polish culture” which values romantic acts of heroism more than everyday work or by far less spectacular diligence.