Cyprian Norwid’s thoughts on independence

Abstract

The presented sketch on Norwid’s thoughts on independence takes into account only the statements of Cyprian Norwid after 1864, fol­lowing the fall of the January Uprising. As a starting point for discus­sion, the crucial 1869 text for the discussed issues was used: the epis­tolary essay Walka-polska, addressed to Agaton Giller. The main thesis of this essay is that Poles “know how to do battle” but “they cannot fight” and it is one of the main objectives of Norwid’s critical view on the Polish road to independence. Besides this essay, the above sketch brings back other texts by Norwid, important for the issues of inde­pendence. It discusses Odezwa w sprawie udziału Polaków w wojnie francusko-pruskiej [The call on the participation of Poles in the Franco- Prussian War] of 1870 and Odpowiedź Cypriana Kamila N. niektórym obywatelom o stanie rzeczy narodowej zapytującym [Cyprian Kamil N.’s answer to some citizens asking about the state of national affairs] from the period of Russo-Turkish War in 1877. These discursive texts are completed by a verse from Norwid’s poem Co robić? where the crucial question on the issue of independence is asked: “What to do in the dis­membered country.” Norwid’s comments on the meaning of spiritual independence, the importance of which could sometimes be more im­portant than independence understood only politically close the con­siderations included in this sketch.