Polska i Polacy w czasach „wielkiego zmierzchu”. Problem patriotyzmu w pamiętniku Cezarego Jellenty

Abstract

In my article I describe how the concept of ‘patriotism’ functions in the literary works of CezaryJellenta. I believe that in the historical period following the recreation of the independent Polishstate many important problems and doubts arose. In this article the subject of my interpretation isJellenta’s diary Wielki zmierzch [The Great Twilight] (1925) about the times of the First World War.I begin with an account of Jellenta’s revolutionary activity in 1905 (he was the editor-in-chief of“Ateneum” at that time). In the main, analytical, part I present his critical view of Poland and Poleson the eve of Independence Day. I distinguish three main groups of problems: the future Polish stateas an idea and a political conception, the Polish nation, and the concept of patriotism. I show howJellenta himself understood the notion of patriotism at that particular time. I refer to the19th-centurypatriotic traditions and political myths as well as the concept of national character. In the last part ofmy article I confront Jellenta’s diary Wielki zmierzch with his study about Josef Pilsudski.