The Artist Is Betrayed and Disappointed. Portrait of Aleksander Pushkin in Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz’s Maskarada

Abstract

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz's dramatic works, diversified in terms of theme and genre, by no means occupy a marginal place in his comprehensively perceived writing oeuvre. Three of Iwaszkiewicz's plays, linked by the artist's theme, deserve a special mention: Lato w Nohant, Maskarada and Wesele pana Balzaka. The subject of analysis in this article is the play “Masquerade”. That play focuses on the character of Alexander Pushkin and his complex relationship with the environment, which lead to the self-destruction of the poet, for whom the only salvation is death. In this play, Iwaszkiewicz connected the artistic theme with the question of subjectivity and identity.