Serce nie sługa. Refleksja nad kształtowaniem patriotycznych postaw kobiet w Samnitce (1787) Józefa Wybickiego

Abstract

The heart is not a servant. Reflection on shaping patriotic attitudes of women in “Samnitka” (1787) by Józef Wybicki The article presents the interpretation of the Józef Wybicki’s opera “Samnitka” (“The Samnite”) (1787), which may be considered as a voice in the debate initiated and extremely lively at the end of the 18th century on the involvement of Polish women in active participation in the national community. One of the many patterns of behavior proposed to women at the time as a way to join the struggle for their homeland, was the model of a citizen-lover who rewards patriots with love and rejects and despises traitors. Such an attitude is presented, for example, by Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin’s Leucyppa from “Matka Spartanka” (“Spartan mother”) (1786). In this context, “Samnitka” seems to be an insightful and critical analysis of the pattern described above, undertaken only at the beginning of its popularization. It shows the ethical ambivalence of this pattern and undermines the effectiveness of this type of procedure.

Keywords

• enlightenment
• 18th century literature
• citizen
• patriotism
• women
• józef wybicki
• “the samnite”
• “spartan mother”
• opera