Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis | Studia Historicolitteraria
„Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Historicolitteraria” to rocznik naukowy wydawany przez Instytut Filologii Polskiej Uniwersytetu Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie. ISSN: 2081-1853 e-ISSN: 2300-5831 Historia Tradycje pisma sięgają 1961 roku, kiedy to jako podseria „Rocznika Naukowo-Dydaktycznego Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej w Krakowie” ukazał się pierwszy numer „Prac Historycznoliterackich”. Pod obecną nazwą czasopismo funkcjonuje od 2009 roku. W latach 1961–1976 Komitetem Redakcyjnym „Prac Historycznoliterackich” kierował profesor Wincenty Danek, wybitny historyk literatury i dydaktyk, wieloletni rektor Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej w Krakowie, kolejne tomy czasopisma redagowali znakomici badacze literatury, m.in. Jan Nowakowski, Stanisław Burkot, Jerzy Jarowiecki, Bolesław Faron, Józef Z. Białek, Halina Bursztyńska, Tadeusz Budrewicz. Profil Głównym obszarem tematycznym czasopisma są szeroko rozumiane studia nad literaturą polską, krytyką artystyczną, przekładoznawstwem i edytorstwem literatury, teatrem, czasopiśmiennictwem i kulturą literacką w kontekście historyczno- i teoretycznoliterackim, komparatystycznym, filozoficznym, kulturowym i antropologicznym. Dziedzina: nauki humanistyczne Dyscyplina: literaturoznawstwo (wiodąca), nauki o kulturze i religii, nauki o sztuce, polonistyka Język publikacji: język polski oraz języki kongresowe Punktacja Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego – 70 punktów Index Copernicus Value (ICV) 2021 = 100.00; 2022 = 96,88; 2023 = 97,37; 2024 = 100.00 Czasopismo objęte programem ministerialnym Wsparcie dla czasopism naukowych (2019-2020) Indeksowane w bazach: ERIH PLUS, BazHum, <a href="https://doaj.org/toc/2300-5831?source=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22filtered%22%3A%7B%22filter%22%3A%7B%22bool%22%3A%7B%22must%22%3A%5B%7B%22terms%22%3A%7B%22index.issn.exact%22%3A%5B%222081-1853%22%2C%222300-5831%22%5D%7D%7D%5D%7D%7D%2C%22query%22%3A%7B%22match_all%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%7D%7D%2C%22size%22%3A100%2C%22sort%22%3A%5B%7B%22created_date%22%3A%7B%22order%22%3A%22desc%22%7D%7D%5D%2C%22_source%22%3A%7B%7D%7D">DOAJ, CEEOL, CEJSH - Biblioteka Nauki, GoogleScholar, Polska Bibliografia Naukowa (PBN), Index Copernicus, Most Wiedzy Dostępne w zasobach: Pedagogicznej Biblioteki Cyfrowej, Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego w Krakowie, Federacji Bibliotek Cyfrowych, <a title="https://www.academica.edu.pl/search?query=studia+Historicolitteraria&advancedSearch=false&searchType=DOCS&sectionType=&sortField=&sortOrder=&resultsLimit=10&page=1&highlight=false&fullTextSearch=false&advancedOp=&advancedField=fulltitle&advancedValue=&advancedValueFrom=&advancedValueTo=&advancedInputType=STRING&advancedOp=AND&advancedField=fullmeta&advancedValue=&advancedValueFrom=&advancedValueTo=&advancedInputType=STRING" href="https://www.academica.edu.pl/search?query=studia+Historicolitteraria&advancedSearch=false&searchType=DOCS&sectionType=&sortField=&sortOrder=&resultsLimit=10&page=1&highlight=false&fullTextSearch=false&advancedOp=&advancedField=fulltitle&advancedValue=&advancedValueFrom=&advancedValueTo=&advancedInputType=STRING&advancedOp=AND&advancedField=fullmeta&advancedValue=&advancedValueFrom=&advancedValueTo=&advancedInputType=STRING">Academica, Academia.edu
Uniwersytet Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Krakowie
POLITYKA PRAW AUTORSKICH Wydawca „Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Historicolitteraria” jest upoważniony do korzystania oraz do rozpowszechniana wszystkich opublikowanych w czasopiśmie materiałów na podstawie umowy licencji niewyłącznej, zawartej uprzednio na czas nieoznaczony każdorazowo z autorem/ką konkretnego utworu na określonych w tamtejszej umowie polach eksploatacji. POLITYKA OTWARTEGO DOSTĘPU „Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Historicolitteraria” to czasopismo o otwartym dostępie, a cała jego zawartość jest dostępna bezpłatnie dla użytkowników i instytucji na zasadach licencji niewyłącznej CreativeCommons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Użytkownicy/ki mogą czytać, pobierać, wykonywać kopie, rozpowszechniać, drukować, wyszukiwać lub linkować do pełnych tekstów artykułów w tym czasopiśmie bez uprzedniej zgody wydawcy lub autora/ki pod warunkiem podania źródła dostępu i autorstwa danej publikacji. Jest to zgodne z definicją otwartego dostępu BOAI (http://www.soros.org/openaccess).
The article explores the motifs of food and dishes present in the literary works and correspondence of Zygmunt Krasiński – focusing in particular on cakes and pastries. The poet references these foods within the typical contexts and interpretations of his time: as representations of repugnant nourishment (and thus of materiality), as ritual and community-forming elements, or as components of erotic rituals. The way cakes and pastries (more broadly – food) are treated is influenced primarily by Catholicism and Romanticism, understood in the Mickiewiczian or Byronic sense. The point of departure for the analysis is the presence of cakes and tortes in literary texts (such as The Undivine Comedy and various lyrical poems), with attention also paid to sweets mentioned in the poet’s letters. The treatment of these motifs in both literary and paraliterary texts is similarly conventional. Identifying a role for pastries that goes beyond convention and ideology is therefore possible, but such instances are exceedingly rare (only one example has been found).
Prawa autorskie (c) 2025 Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis | Studia Historicolitteraria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
„Życie bywa chorobą”. Zdrowie, choroba i miłość w listach Felicjana Medarda Faleńskiego do Marii Trębickiej (1854–1861)
The material, considered as a cultural text, a historical source, and a specific literary genre, comes from 77 letters by Felicjan Medard Faleński to Maria Trębicka, preserved in their unpublished engagement correspondence (MS BJ 5780). An inseparable part of the poet’s epistolography are references to illnesses – both physical ailments (headache, cold, influenza, fever, whooping cough, typhus, cholera, tuberculosis – an object of linguistic taboo) and mental disorders (depression, nervous breakdowns, “madness”). Faleński also reflects on his attitude toward physicians and the therapies practiced at the time: drinking mineral waters, travelling for climate change, hydropathy, and homeopathy according to the concept of Christian Samuel Hahnemann. His first reaction is mockery and skepticism; he approves fashionable medical methods only on the basis of personal experience and believes in prevention rather than in treatment. Frequent expressions of concern and anxiety about another’s health occupy an important place in the dynamics of the emotional relations described in the letters – they serve as proof of strong feelings toward his fiancée, relatives, and friends. The concepts of health, therapy, and illness in the “private world” of a nineteenth-century writer are also used metaphorically, as a way of speaking about emotions (Maria is for Felicjan “the deaf man’s trumpet”, while her letters are the best medicine), and, finally, about the literature and culture of his epoch.
Po co Paulina Wilkońska jeździła do Salzbrunn?
The aim of this article is to supplement existing information about the life of Paulina Wilkońska based on her correspondence – partly published, partly preserved in manuscript form – addressed to several close acquaintances and friends, including Seweryna Pruszakowa, Wacław Maciejowski, Julian Bartoszewicz, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Paulina Dzieduszycka, and Katarzyna and Wincenty Karwiccy. The analysis of these personal documents is subordinated to the reconstruction of a selected aspect of the writer’s biography. The study examines the reasons behind Wilkońska’s remarkably regular stays in Salzbrunn during the 1850s and 1860s, undertaken despite clear financial constraints. It is proposed that three motivational paths may have influenced the author’s determination: a desire to escape loneliness combined with the search for inspiration and creative strength, issues related to physical and mental health, and the need for temporary isolation from a dysfunctional family. In this context, Wilkońska’s repeated trips to Salzbrunn offered a sense of normalcy and helped her maintain essential life balance.
Higiena życia codziennego sybiraków – sposoby i praktyki lektury. Próba rejestracji ujęć nieoczywistych i dyskusyjnych
The author of this article seeks to explore the ambiguities arising from the notion of hygiene in the everyday life of Siberian exiles. He points out the difficulties and paradoxes of daily existence in Siberia, as well as the methods and practices involved in its interpretation. By referring to various examples, he presents alternative and controversial perspectives. The analysis encompasses fictional texts, autobiographical accounts (memoirs, diaries), and discursive writings to support the argument. The author attempts to answer the question of what constitutes hygiene in the everyday life of Siberians and why these inherently anti-hygienic experiences allow for the unveiling of a different dimension of Polish Siberia. The author focuses on various forms of narrating Siberia and Siberianness as an experience – literary creations (and thus constructs) as well as intimate texts – since the examined issue leads to almost identical conclusions in both types of writings. Moreover, these texts display a very similar degree of credibility. This constitutes a unique case in literary studies, where works differing in genre and discourse (in the context of the hygiene-related issues discussed by the author) may be treated – without methodological or formal reservations – as a corpus suitable for analysis, not requiring individual justification of its essence or status.
„Ten post całkiem do obżarstwa jest podobny”. Codzienność zesłańca w listach Kazimierza Szetkiewicza do żony
The article analyzes the way in which the exile, Kazimierz Szetkiewicz, describes his everyday life in letters to his wife. The repressions imposed on the author of the letters consisted in sending him away from his family home. He was not subjected to forced labor or other forms of physical torment. Therefore, it is possible to observe how a seemingly mild punishment affected the exile’s psyche and what difficulties he encountered while trying to create the illusion of a “normal” existence. The first problem appearing in the correspondence is the disruption of the relationship between the sender and the recipient of the letters, caused by external obstacles to communication. These difficulties create an unusual situation in which the letter becomes a kind of diary or memoir, since it lacks the sender–receiver interaction described in literary theory. Another important issue is that of existential matters: descriptions of loneliness, food supply, difficulties in religious practice, and boredom. All these aspects together create an image of the fate of a man persecuted by the Tsarist authorities that differs significantly from the conventional stereotype.
Ład przestrzeni, ład umysłu i czystość duszy. Higieniści nie tylko Orzeszkowej
The article discusses how deeply the theme of hygiene is embedded in positivist is sues and modes of thinking. The example is provided by Eliza Orzeszkowa’s didactic novel Maria (1877). The prohygienic stance here rises to the level of an idea closely linked with the concept of organic work. For this reason, it becomes a marker of the positivist, and its most important symptoms are the order of human-controlled space, the order of the mind, and the purity of the soul. Recalling various contexts reveals the multiple ways in which hygiene is intertwined with the positivist text.
Hygeia. Progresisty marzenia o czystej wodzie – marzenia o nowoczesności. Uwagi na marginesach "Kronik tygodniowych" Bolesława Prusa
Historia jednego przypisu do przygotowywanej edycji Kronik tygodniowych w ramach Pism wszystkich Bolesław Prusa jest dla mnie punktem wyjścia do oceny zaangażowania kronikarza w tzw. debaty wodociągowe, które toczyły się w Warszawie w latach 70. XIX wieku oraz próby odtworzenia ich brytyjskiego kontekstu. Na materiale kronik z lat 1874-1879 prezentuję skalę zainteresowania Prusa tematem dostępności czystej wody dla mieszkańców Warszawy, przedstawiam jego strategie popularyzowania tematu, ale też szukam możliwych połączeń między materiałem publicystycznym a literackim realizacjami tematu w szkicu Pod sztychami i na kartach Lalki.
"Rumfordzka zupa wielkim jest dobrodziejstwem" – o dziewiętnastowiecznej kuroniówce słów kilka
The aim of the article is to present the circumstances surrounding the emergence of Rumford soup and the role it played in the history of charitable activity in Warsaw. The text adopts primarily a cultural perspective, grounded methodologically in the main assumptions of New Historicism as expressed in the views of Stephen Greenblatt, including the characteristic method of textual analysis, the belief in the existence of multiple parallel ways of narrating the past, and the tendency to explore topics not typically included in the main intellectual currents of a given cultural period. The author recalls significant facts from the biography of Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) and outlines the foundations of his scientific attitude, situating them within the main tenets of scientism. The article also examines how Rumford’s approach influenced the final form of his soup recipe. In the subsequent sections, the author discusses the circumstances under which Thompson’s concept was implemented by 19th-century Warsaw charitable institutions. The article also addresses voices from the contemporary public debate on food distribution, focusing on reconstructing the views expressed on this issue by Bolesław Prus.
„To przechodzi wszystko co widziane”. O brudzie i zapachu w dziennikach Pawła Sapiehy z podróży do Azji
The article analyzes Paweł Sapieha’s travel journals from his journey to Asia (1888-1889), based on the assumption that in the age of colonial empires, European travelers hierarchized the senses – namely smell, taste, sound, and sight – in favor of the latter. Sapieha evaluates local customs, such as the culturally rooted practice of chewing betel leaves or the Parsi burial rites, from the perspective of European hygiene norms, constructing a narrative largely grounded in the affect of disgust. His visit to a prison in Canton reveals the deterministic foundations of his thinking, especially in his descriptions of local rulers and judges, to whom he attributes animalistic features and a tendency toward deceit. One of the subsections compares Sapieha’s account with Maria Konopnicka’s reportage, illustrating that despite being a product of his time, the Galician nobleman still had a choice regarding the perspective he could adopt. His role as a scholar of Asian cultures (a role he was framed in by the press) ultimately amounted to a one-time use of opportunity and the treatment of this leg of the journey as a kind of tourist attraction. Drawing on the work of Constance Classen, David Howes, and Winfried Menninghaus, the article argues that Paweł Sapieha’s journals do not significantly depart from the imperial narrative of the era, and that his travel account may have contributed to the stereotyping of Asians in the eyes of Polish readers.
„U wód”, czyli "Ziemianka w XIX-wiecznym kurorcie. Listy Stefanii z Lemańskich Rzewuskiej do męża z pobytów w zagranicznych uzdrowiskach"
Drawing on the epistolary theories of Elżbieta Rybicka, Stefania Skwarczyńska, and Anita Całek, this article analyzes the correspondence of Stefania née Lemańska Rzewuska, written to her husband Wacław between 1886 and 1891, during her stays in foreign health resorts such as San Remo, Meran, and Neumarkt in der Steiermark, where she spent long months undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. The study focuses on the anthropological and communicative aspects of these letters and their place within the sociology of literature, which centers on the emotional and communicative human subject. The letters serve as a document of a specific historical, social, and literary reality and provide valuable insight into the spa culture of the late 19th century. They allow for the reconstruction of the course of tuberculosis, its accompanying ailments, and contemporary methods of treatment. It appears that the main therapeutic method against tuberculosis at the time was climatic therapy, based on breathing fresh air, physical activity, and walks, supported by a specific diet that included various types of alcohol, kefir, milk, cod-liver oil, and even cigarettes. Due to her health and financial limitations, Stefania did not actively participate in the cultural life of the spa. She constantly longed for her home and husband. Her letters served as a means of continuous communication between the spouses, separated by a thousand kilometers, and became a way of building a relationship based on love and partnership. They also functioned as a form of psychological therapy for both. Stefania ultimately lost her battle with tuberculosis, dying at the age of 36. Her letters fit well into the history of 19th-century customs and the history of medicine, particularly the struggle against tuberculosis – the so-called “white plague”.
„Meran podobno cudów dokazuje” – kurortowy świat w powieści Ludwiki Godlewskiej "Po zdrowie"
This article is devoted to the forgotten debut novel Po zdrowie (“For Health”) by Ludwika Godlewska, whose action takes place in an exclusive South Tyrolean spa resort – Meran – popular at the close of the nineteenth century. The novel, not devoid of psychological ambition, depicts a small circle of Polish patients residing in Villa Parva. In Godlewska’s work, nineteenth-century struggles with the “white plague,” known to the author from her own experience, are presented in two dimensions: as an individual tragedy shown through the prism of the patients’ daily struggles, supported by doctors and their relatives, and as a challenge to science that late-nine teenth-century scholars sought to overcome. The treatment in which the protagonists place their faith was rooted in the medical recommendations of the time. Belonging to the genre of the spa novel, Godlewska’s work is presented here within a broad cultural context (the functioning and social role of spas in the nineteenth century, illustrated by the example of Meran, contemporary methods of treating tuberculosis, etc.). Given the nature of the novel and the main theme of this journal issue, an interdisciplinary approach has been adopted, drawing on the case-study method.
Teoria humoralna w XIX wieku: między tradycją a nowoczesną medycyną
The article presents the history and significance of humoral theory in the context of nineteenth-century medical transformations, emphasizing its lasting impact on the perception of health, the human body, and the concept of balance. The author traces the philosophical origins of humoralism in ancient Greece and its development through the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen, as well as its influence on European and Polish culture, notably in the writings of Mikołaj Rej. Particular attention is given to the principles of the humoral diet – understood as a holistic lifestyle (diaita) – and its relation to temperament and environmental factors. The section devoted to the nineteenth century illustrates the persistence of humoral concepts in medical practice, especially through William Buchan’s Domestic Medicine and the Polish medical guide by Józef Zmijewski. The article demonstrates that despite major scientific advances – such as the cell theory, asepsis, vaccination, and bacteriology – humoral ideas continued to shape medical thought for decades. The conclusion highlights the enduring legacy of humoralism, showing its conceptual links with modern notions of homeostasis, natural medicine, and psychosomatic health.
Pokolenie kobiet-widm: blednica, bielidła i blada cera w XIX wieku
The author analyzes consumption as a medical-cultural construct, whose symptoms – pale, translucent skin and a slender, ethereal figure – aligned with the nineteenth-century beauty ideal, evoking the image of a ghostly woman. The article shows how the disease, by transcending the boundaries of medical diagnosis, became a tool of normative control over the body through medical, educational, and cosmetic practices.
Dojrzewanie do zdrowia serca przez higienę duszy. Wokół trylogii Eugenii Żmijewskiej
The article discusses the presence and functions of motifs related to hygiene and health in Eugenia Żmijewska’s novels "Płomyk. Z pamiętnika instytutki", "Dola", and "Serduszko. Dzieje pożycia". It analyzes the impact of these themes on the message of the trilogy, highlighting the ways in which a holistic approach to women’s health and hygiene is presented. In "Płomyk", the notion of hygiene becomes a symbol of the protagonist’s educational deficiencies, while the lack of attention from her surroundings contributes to the manifestation of somatic ailments. The introduction of doctor figures outlines the protagonist’s internal conflict, and the choice of values represented by Roman Żelwietr grants her access to maturity, symbolized by her stay in the sanatorium.
„Przewodnik Zdrowia” i inne przedsięwzięcia Augustyna Czarnowskiego (1861–1934) na rzecz „pielęgnowania zdrowia” u schyłku XIX wieku
This text is an attempt to supplement the knowledge about the popularizing activity of the physician and publisher Augustyn Czarnowski, who from mid-1895 published in Berlin the monthly “Przewodnik Zdrowia. Pismo poświęcone pielęgnowaniu zdrowia i Sposobowi Życia Według Praw i Wskazówek Przyrody” („Health Guide. A Journal Devoted to the Care of Health and to the Way of Life According to the Laws and Guidance of Nature”). The present analysis is based on source studies, including a content analysis of “Przewodnik Zdrowia” from the years 1895–1900, the preserved issues of which are currently available, among others, in the collections of the Jagiellonian Library. Other publications issued by Czarnowski until the end of the 19th century, which were a continuation of articles published in “Przewodnik Zdrowia”, were also examined. The analysis revealed interesting information on health, diseases, prevention, treatment, and lifestyle, as well as the original methods adopted by Czarnowski to disseminate and popularize knowledge about health.
Choroby przemysłowe w medycynie, ruchu socjalistycznym i wybranych powieściach przemysłowych ostatniej dekady XIX wieku
The article discusses the problem of industrial diseases as represented in medicine, socialist discourse, and literature of the final decades of the nineteenth century. The development of industry during this period was accompanied by the great hopes of positivists who promoted the cult of work. However, employment in modern branches of industry that began to emerge or expand in the Russian partition turned out to be not only an opportunity for the surplus population of the agrarian society but also a new threat – both social and health-related. Industrial diseases thus became a major challenge for the discourse of hygiene, which was focused on improving the living conditions of the population. The issue of industrial diseases was also addressed by the illegal socialist press. Numerous articles emphasized the harmfulness of work in various branches of industry. The problem also appeared in literary texts – primarily in the works of Stefan Żeromski and Artur Gruszecki. The article traces the circulation of images and ideas concerning industrial diseases among medical, political, and literary discourses, highlighting the transfer of identical motifs and even fragments of texts from one discourse to another.
O trudzie, który uszlachetnia – aksjologia świata pracy w "Historii o Janku górniku" Zofii Bukowieckiej
The subject of this article is Zofia Bukowiecka’s novel "The Story of Janek the Miner". Its aim is to reconstruct the image of work and its place within the system of values presented in the narrative. Referring to the broader context of the late nineteenth century, the author focuses on the novelistic depiction of miners’ hard labour as a profession defined above all by nobility, as well as on those passages in which the value of work is shown uncompromisingly, even at the cost of health, life, and the conditions of children’s growth and development. Reflection on the causes and consequences of such a representation of the world of work in the novel provides insight into significant moments of rupture, in which one pedagogical postulate (such as children’s access to education, the improvement of living standards among the lower social strata, or attention to everyday hygiene) is curtailed or silenced in order for another to resonate fully (the cult of work as a value in itself and as a means of achieving all the goals of society).
Między etyką a dietetyką. Głosy polskich zwolenników wegetarianizmu pod koniec XIX i na początku XX stulecia
The article explores the Polish vegetarian movement, which emerged in the 1880s and subsequently developed in a non-uniform manner, oscillating between dietary and ethical positions. The voices of Polish vegetarians and commentators on the movement formed an engaging intellectual debate. These discussions addressed issues of healthy nutrition as well as the moral implications of a plant-based diet. Key figures in the debate included Konstanty Moes-Oskragiełło, Józef Drzewiecki, Janisław Jastrzębowski, Rajmund Jankowski, Bolesław Prus, and Aleksander Świętochowski. Advocates of vegetarianism employed a variety of arguments. Initially, they recommended a plant-based diet primarily for its health benefits. Over time, however, they increasingly acknowledged the fate of animals and began to empathize with their suffering. In the Polish vegetarian discourse at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a gradual shift took place – marked by the weakening of the dominant paradigm of anthropocentric culture.
„To mięsożerca przeciw nam zawiesił zbroczony krwawo sztandar ten”. Mięso i narodowość w "Le Végétarien" J.-H. Rosny’ego
The article analyzes the interwoven religious, hygienic, and patriotic discourses on meat in J.-H. Rosny’s short story "Le Végétarien". By pointing to references to eighteenth-century texts, it demonstrates that the opposition between vegetarians and meat-eaters is reinforced through the association of the former with the French and the latter with the English. The discussion highlights contexts that clarify the cultural significance of meat in the period and its connection with English national pride (as a symbol of imperial power). The interpretation of the story takes into account the relations between France and England, as well as the reciprocal ways of stereotyping the representatives of these nations through their culinary practices.
Problemy „wieku nerwowego”. Neurastenia, histeria, zachowania suicydalne w polskiej publicystyce w zaborze rosyjskim na przełomie XIX i XX w.
The aim of this article is to present the main directions of the discussion about nervousness in the Polish press in Congress Poland and Vilnius at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The source basis consists of social and scientific journalism published in medical, hygienic, and pedagogical journals. The existence and significance of Western literature in the development of Polish reflection on nervousness at the time of the fin de siècle are also discussed. The research methods employed include historical analysis and press discourse analysis. The examination of the collected press materials suggests three main approaches to depicting nervousness. The dominant one was the medical discourse, which defined health standards as well as the etiology of diseases and disorders. Its impact on the language and social practices concerning nervousness was the most significant. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, the political context and the concept of la névrose révolutionnaire gained importance. The third perspective was shaped by the social model, which explored how society set standards of emotionality and mental health. In each approach, the etiology of neuroses was linked with categories of sex, social class, race, and nationality.
Neurastenia i prąd nerwowy, czyli późnodziewiętnastowieczne teorie o „nerwach elektrycznych”. Przypadek Augusta Strindberga
The nineteenth century was a period marked by emerging tensions and rapid civilizational upheavals that found expression in literature, medicine, and philosophy. Within the shifting cultural and ideological landscape of the nineteenth century, neurasthenia – understood both as a type of psychological experience and a form of heightened psychic sensitivity – became a symbol of its time. The concept of neuras thenia reflected the nervous exhaustion caused by sensory overload and technological progress. Against this backdrop, August Strindberg appears as an emblematic figure: a man tormented by psychological strain and constantly searching for methods to purify both body and mind. His obsession with hygienic living encompassed spiritual dimensions (mysticism, religion) as well as everyday practices (diet, rituals, organization of space). This article aims to show how Strindberg combined control over body, mind, and environment in an attempt to cope with the chaos of modernity. Was his obsession with hygiene an effort to preserve himself in a world vibrating with nervous agitation? Strindberg was both a victim and a prophet of modern nervousness. He fled the city, avoided stimulants, ordered the space around him, and transformed every daily activity into a hygienic ritual. At the same time, his literary work records his struggle with sensory excess, anxiety, and spiritual disorientation.
Chłopomania, czyli lek na całe zło (interpretacja powieści "Bajecznie kolorowa" Ignacego Maciejowskiego)
This article offers a scholarly interpretation of the novel "Bajecznie kolorowa" (1898) by Ignacy Sewer Maciejowski, a now largely forgotten writer who is usually omitted from surveys and collections on 19th-century Polish literature. Wacek, a Young Poland painter and the novel’s protagonist, gradually turns into a weary, apathetic decadent, deprived of motivation for creative work. He regains his vital energy and inner harmony after meeting the charming Jagusia – the daughter of a peasant from Bronowice. Significantly, Bajecznie kolorowa can be read as a prose portrait of Włodzimierz Tetmajer and Anna Mikołajczykówna, whose marriage was famously depicted three years later in The Wedding by Stanisław Wyspiański. In my analysis, I define peasantomania not only as a cultural trend of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but also as a hygienic phantasm – an attempt by the artistic community to restore mental and physical (affective) balance. I argue that this movement emerged as a response to the existential maladies of the modernists, who sought in rustic life a universal antidote to the pervasive Weltschmerz. At the same time, I draw attention to the unwarranted mythologization of the countryside and its inhabitants, portrayed in an overly simplified and idyllic manner. The text under analysis thus reveals the tensions between the literary vision of peasantomania and the real social and health problems of the fin de siècle.
Prawa autorskie (c) 2026 Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis | Studia Historicolitteraria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Cóż nam po garbusku? O zwiększonej kifozie w literaturze przełomu XIX i XX wieku. Wstępne obserwacje
The article offers an analysis of physical disability in literature at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis on characters suffering from increased kyphosis (a hunchback), examined from the perspective of disability studies. The main focus is placed on the description of disabled characters’ appear ance, the reactions of others to bodily deformity, and the objective and subjective experience of disability.
„W gotowalniach maski opadają”. Co dziewiętnastowieczna służąca wiedziała o higienie, zwłaszcza gdy była mężczyzną? "Dziennik panny służącej" Octave’a Mirbeau
This article examines Octave Mirbeau’s 1900 novel The Diary of a Chambermaid, highlighting the complex and paradoxical position of nineteenth-century domestic servants. The protagonist, Célestine, as a maid, has access to the most intimate aspects of her employers’ lives, which makes her the confidante of their secrets. Servants of the time were true experts in hygiene, as maintaining cleanliness was one of their primary duties. Yet the novel is above all a story about discrimination, violence, the “use” and “abuse” of maids, and their sexual exploitation by employers. Hygiene becomes here a tool of control and discipline. By giving voice to a maid, Mirbeau exposes bourgeois hypocrisy, deceit, and cruelty. Although Célestine is a victim, she is not powerless – she is capable of using her knowledge for her own advantage. The article argues that Mirbeau’s novel is not only a critique of nineteenth-century society but also a literary manifesto against the violence hidden behind the façade of order and cleanliness.
"Higiena biblijna w świetle krytyki spółczesnej" Salomona Mintza – między tradycją a nowoczesnością
The article focuses on the work of Salomon Mintz (a Polish physician of Jewish origin) entitled Biblical Hygiene in the Light of Contemporary Criticism (Warsaw 1901). The concept of “biblical hygiene” expresses the combination of two different realities: one defined Mintz’s religious identity, while the other reflected his professional life. These two realities are mirrored in the very title of his lecture: the first part – “Biblical Hygiene” – is rooted in the author’s confessional engagement (his profound knowledge of the Pentateuch); the second part – “in the light of contemporary criticism” – is based on Mintz’s medical education. The author juxtaposes two worlds that do not necessarily align: religious beliefs derived from the sacred scriptures and accepted on faith, and rational convictions arising from the scientific findings of his time. The author of the article traces this confrontation, presents Mintz’s reasoning, and seeks to identify the sources of his views.
„Jesteśmy jeszcze zacofani na polu higieny”. Komentarze prasowe związane z I Wystawą Higieniczną w Warszawie
The article presents selected themes from press commentaries concerning the First Hygienic Exhibition in Warsaw, which was open to the public from 21 May to 11 July 1887. The analysis focuses on reports published in 1887 in the Warsaw press – in monthly journals (“Biblioteka Warszawska”, “Zdrowie”), weeklies (“Biesiada Literacka”, “Bluszcz”, “Gazeta Rzemieślnicza”, “Głos”, “Kolce”, “Kronika Rodzinna”, “Prawda”, “Przegląd Tygodniowy”, “Tygodnik Ilustrowany”), and daily newspapers (“Kurier Warszawski”, “Kurier Codzienny”). In the first part of the article, the author briefly outlines the history of the exhibition and considers how it was perceived by contemporary writers – as a space of education, entertainment, or commerce. The discussion highlights issues concerning the hygiene of Polish society, pointing out the problems most frequently noted by reporters, such as the prevention of parasitic diseases, the organization of Warsaw hospitals with properly equipped wards, the construction of urban sewage and water systems, negligence in the field of construction, personal hygiene of infants, children, and youth, as well as the conditions of school premises. The second part reconstructs contemporary diagnoses regarding the state of hygiene in Polish society in the 1880s and reflects on the role the exhibition played in shaping public awareness.
Wystawa „Czystość to zdrowie” (1910) jako bilans pozytywizmu
The article discusses the evolution of hygiene exhibitions in Warsaw (1887, 1896, 1910). The program of Positivism assumed civilizational, material, social, and moral progress. The pursuit of progress required an increased concern for physical health. The health of individuals and societies, in the context of dynamic spatial mobility, depended on the state of hygiene. The slogan of social solidarity, along with the program of organic work and work at the grassroots level, formed the foundation of the exhibitions in 1887 and 1896. Hygiene exhibitions, having a didactic purpose, popularized the latest achievements of science and spread the cult of cleanliness among the lower social classes. The 1910 exhibition took place after the experiences of the 1905–1906 revolution. It revealed the weaknesses of the Positivist idea, which was directed toward the middle class while ignoring the living needs and conditions of workers and peasants. It turned out that hygiene for the people was a commodity too costly to afford. Positivist civilizational and social reforms were moving in the right direction, but their slow pace disappointed the working masses, who increas ingly turned toward the ideas of socialism.
Zachodnie echa w polskim dyskursie o higienie. Parę uwag o "Zbudź się i walcz. Sztuka odnawiania duszy i ciała" Ellicka Morna według Władysława M. Kozłowskiego
This article discusses the concept of hygiene promoted in the publication by E. Morn – actually G. Bertinetti – in the Polish (free) translation by W. M. Kozłowski, titled "Zbudź się i walcz" (1911). The book was considered a work expressing the ideals of American culture, whereas in reality it was written by a Piedmontese author. His unusual literary activity deserves separate discussion. Hygiene in Morn’s conception consists in cultivating beauty, goodness, prayer (understood as the focusing of energy), imagination, and physical health – a form of modern kalokagathia. It is presented as essential for protecting humanity from the epidemic of pessimism and decadence, and fits into the regenerative trend in the culture of the first half of the twentieth century. The historical-literary and comparative research undertaken here addresses the difficulties in determining how Morn’s work was translated into foreign languages (English and French), as well as its publication history on the Polish book market.
„Głodnymi ludźmi i końmi wojny robić nie można”. O etycznej i taktycznej naturze literackich świadectw Romana Żaby i Tadeusza Kudlińskiego, oficerów armii austro-węgierskiej
The literary representations of the First World War by Roman Żaba and Tadeusz Kudliński offer a perspective on the armed conflict that transformed the face of nineteenth-century Europe, differing from the commonly known images perpetuated by legionary literature or pacifist prose. Both authors served in the Austro-Hungarian army. Kudliński was drafted directly from secondary school, while Żaba chose a military career of his own accord in his youth. They served in different branches of the army: Kudliński in the artillery, Żaba as a cavalry officer educated in military academies and experienced in Galician uhlan regiments. Military service was thus an episode in Kudliński’s life, yet one significant enough for him to dedicate to it his novel "The Taste of the World: An Autobiographical Novel". War and military service also occupy an important place in his prose volume "The Capital of My Youth: Memoirs of a Cracovian between the Wars". Żaba, in turn, authored "Memoirs of Years Past" (from 1864 to 1937)": “I Was Lucky in War”. Are there affinities, apart from military motifs, between the autobiographical prose of a professional officer and that of a writer? Without delving into questions of style, it is worth noting the presence in these works of the categories of affect and emotion, understood as defined by Anna Łebkowska. What constitutes corporeality, physiology, sensuality, and physical fitness undoubtedly finds expression in attitudes displayed both in garrison life and on the front. Both the artilleryman and the cavalry officer – which in Żaba’s case seems natural – highlight in their prose the relationship between man and horse.
Kazimierz Kaszewski i meandry dziewiętnastowiecznej krytyki
Recenzja tomu Kazimierz Kaszewski, Krytyka literacka i teatralna, wstęp, redakcja i opracowanie Aneta Mazur, Instytut Badań Literackich PAN, Towarzystwo Literackie im. Adama Mickiewicza, Warszawa 2024.
Recenzja książki: Aleksandra Sikorska-Krystek, Nauka i empatia. Społeczne konteksty twórczości Marii Konopnickiej, Wydawnictwo „Poznańskie Studia Polonistyczne”, Poznań 2024.
O pożytkach z transdyscyplinarności w studiach nad transpłciowością (i nie tylko)
Recenzja książki: Anna Kujawska-Kot, CiałoTeksty. Literackie i filmowe reprezentacje transpłciowości, Universitas, Kraków 2024, 480 s.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Le dedico mi silencio (To dla Pani ta cisza), traducción de Tomasz Pindel
Recenzja: Mario Vargas Llosa, To dla Pani ta cisza, tłum. Tomasz Pindel, Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2024.
Metaforyczna dosłowność nieumarłych strachów
Recenzja książki: Tomasz Pindel, Zombi i pishtaco we współczesnej literaturze hispanoamerykańskiej (1990–2020), TAiWPN Universitas, Kraków 2025, 271 s.
"Gucio zaczarowany" Zofii Urbanowskiej w perspektywie kerygmatycznej
The aim of the article is to reread and reinterpret the positivist fantasy-nature novel for children "Gucio zaczarowany" by Zofia Urbanowska through kerygmatic analysis. In this approach, the kerygma is understood as the proclamation of important religious truths (calling for conversion) through a literary text. Tracing the presence of numerous references to God and Christian sacrum in "Gucio zaczarowany" makes it possible to offer a fuller description of the phenomenon of work and nature in positivist prose for young readers. Christian sacrum manifests itself repeatedly in the novel, both on the linguistic and narrative levels: in the stylisation of the child’s dream as a journey through a “purgatory of nature,” in the utterances of anthropomorphised animals suffused with Christian symbolism, and in prayers. Faith in God and the spiritual experience of the sacred dimension of nature and work constitute the primary motivation for Gucio’s transformation, his conversion, and, consequently, his abandonment of an idle lifestyle.
Herstoria Górnoślązaczki. Jolanta Wadowska-Król – szopienicka doktor ołowianych dzieci
The article presents the profile of Jolanta Wadowska-Król, a doctor from Szopienice distinguished for her fight against lead poisoning. The author situates Wadowska-Król within the context of the local community and the industrial landscape of Upper Silesia, as well as within the political realities of the Polish People’s Republic. The article depicts the doctor’s heroic struggle not only against the epidemic of lead poisoning among the inhabitants of the industrial region of Silesia, but also against the heartless state apparatus that sought to conceal the truth about environmental contamination and the threats posed by the Szopienice smelter to the health and lives of local residents. Wadowska-Król’s dedication and persistence were acknowledged only years later. The pediatrician, referred to as the “Madonna of Szopienice” and the “Sendlerowa of Szopienice”, became the subject of radio programmes, documentaries, scientific and popular articles, and literary works. In 2021, the Senate of the University of Silesia in Katowice awarded Jolanta Wadowska-Król the title of doctor honoris causa. The article recalls her achievements and presents various forms of her commemoration.
Somatyczne jarmarki. Transfery z dell’arte i cyrku w literaturze polskiej (Brucz, Kott, Różewicz, Szymborska, Świrszczyńska, Ważyk)
The article explores the relationship between circus spectacles, performances rooted in embodiment and visuality, and literature. The introductory section recalls the Enlightenment origins of the negative perception of spectacles derived from the Commedia dell’arte tradition, as well as subsequent attempts to challenge this view since the Romantic era. The analytical part highlights successful literary adaptations in essayistic prose and poetry, with examples from the works of Jan Kott, Tadeusz Różewicz, Wisława Szymborska, Anna Świrszczyńska, and Adam Ważyk. The aim of the text is to situate these interpretations within an established critical tradition (Jean Starobinski’s comparativism), while also exploring the potential of performance anthropology (Don Handelman’s theory of symbolic types) and somatic criticism (Adam Dziadek’s project).
Glob/blob/symbiont. Od literatury porównawczej do organicznej wizji literatury świata
The article examines the evolution of literary studies from the disciplinary framework of Comparative Literature to that of World Literature. The author reflects on the globalizing notion of World Literature, often treated as a synonym for the literary “white noise” circulating in translation. Stripped of distinguishing features, this featureless literature appears to digest and overflow everything – much like alien organisms in science-fiction films and novels. For this reason, the author’s attention shifts from major to ultraminor literatures and from a postcolonial to a transcolonial approach. Whereas the postcolonial school of literary criticism foregrounded power differentials and emphasized subaltern subjects suffering symbolic oppression, transcolonial studies focus instead on horizontal networks of solidarity, coexistence, and co-creation. Minor in power and scope though they may be, transcolonial literatures can rely on such networks of solidarity and on synergistic effects, fostering a positive, authentic, and organic vision of World Literature.