A poeticised indulgence. “The Beginning” by Andrzej Szczypiorski: A story of success

Abstract

The article dwells upon the reception of the novel “The Beginning” (“The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman”) by Andrzej Szcypiorski. The success of the book turned out to be an extremely clear evidence of the then state of the Polish society in terms of the attitude to the problem of participation / non-participation of Poles in the fate of Jews during the Holocaust and the development of a language adequate to this trauma. The reception of the novel once again showed that the sale of book products directly depends on its ability to indulge the requirements of a wide segment of consumers — but this does not necessarily apply to low genres. Szczypiorski’s “The Beginning” was the first artistic step in a public discussion concerning probably the most painful story in the history of Poland. The historical truth associated with it, on being silenced for decades, makes its way into the bright field of consciousness, even though with great difficulty and provoking resistance in various circles of the society. The experience of shame is hardly included into the baggage of memory, since it does not create a positive image of society and the individual as a part of it, and therefore any nation state seeks to suppress the memory of events that violate the declared commonality of the national tradition. However, the writer offers the society — which latently feels ethical discomfort, but in fact is not ready neither to revise the idea of itself as of a solely heroic victim of history, nor to reflect on the discourse of Polish patriotism, or to experience the emotion of collective shame — the illusion of moral self-purification and mourning for the exterminated Jewish population of Poland to soothe the conscience.