Slovo a Smysl (Dec 2018)
Velká válka, velké naděje, velké pochybnosti. Smysly, emoce a komplikovaný patriotismus v deníku Zofie Nałkowské || The Great War, Great Hopes, Great Doubts: Senses, Emotions and Complicated Patriotism in the Diary of Zofia Nałkowska
Abstract
The article describes the experience of World War I and the period just after the war (1914–1919) as written in the diary of prominent Polish novelist Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954). For Nałkowska, World War I presents strong sensory experiences (new sounds and images that permeate domestic and other private spaces). At the same time, war reveals the truth about human life — a life full of cruelty —, creating a situation in which the collective expression of patriotism demands individual sacrifice. This article explores the tension in Nałkowska’s diary between what is collective and patriotic, on the one hand, and what is individual and private on the other (patriotism is a valuable aspect of the national ethos for Nałkowska, but at the same time she realizes that it can be a source of nationalistic and chauvinistic behaviours). Finally, the article shows Nałkowska’s critical attitude at the end of the war and the immediate post-war period, connected with the awareness that the regained independence will not solve all Polish problems.
