„You need to be within me, not with me…” The problem of solitude, individualism and community in the works of Adam Mickiewicz
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/RF.2014.033Keywords
individualism, solitude, collectivism, romanticism, Adam Mickiewicz, Isaiah BerlinAbstract
Romanticism is an era in European culture that is often seen as a birthplace of the form of numerous concepts and ideas that is present in the modern times. Undoubtedly one of the most important medium, maybe the most important carrier of ideas, was literature that took over many other forms and fields of human activity (including philosophy). The issue of solitude and community was one of the most interesting ones for numerous Romantic writers. Poets and writers of the 19th Century saw those two concepts as contradictions. The subject of tension between and individual and a community, between solitude and social commitment, was present at the roots of Romantic literature. This issue existed in different forms – as the subject of destructive influence of society on an individual, fascination with extraordinary individuals, the necessity (?) of genius’ solitude, ending with a mature reflection on the place of a man (also an outstanding one) in society and society’s influence on individuality. In this context, one particularly interesting writer, is Adam Mickiewicz, who in all his works returned to the problem of his (and every man’s) place and relation to the society, of choosing the most appropriate conduct: declining all the relationships with human community, or complete engagement for the sake of it’s well-being.
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