When a Writer Closes Whole World Between Two Tiny Planks or Few Words From the Author

24^th December 2020

 

The time has come for the author's commentary and acknowledgements for my principals, just like Gall Anonim[1] once wrote warm letters to Bolesław Krzywousty[2]... I would like to thank my little home library for inspiring me; music that sweetens life every day; celestial powers that transmitted their fluids to my fingers; cars that took me to poetic places; and of course, my greatest inspiration without whom this book would not exist at all - my lover.

This short letter will explain to you, my dear readers, the secrets of my workshop. Here you will find key questions and answers that must have appeared in your mind during your adventure of reading. So, let's start our travel in the back of my workshop and we'll start exploring soon. Ready?

 

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Great Lady’s Diary so far is only composed of first volume, but it required to process so many books and historical facts that are worth mentioning now. This novel was made to help you to escape from the pandemic 2020, teach you something about the 19^th century, and above all, it is my personal psychological game with the characters. There are many things that made me reflect on human nature. I hope many times the reader had noticed the artistic side of this little work of mine and the love of what is natural and beautiful.

Why was this novel set in the era of early European Romanticism[3]? Why is Elizabeth a lady of the entire 19^th century? It's simple - because this era is still actual and attractive to us. The protagonist of Diary is a synthesis of the whole thought of the 19^th-century formation[4]. Her diaries contain features characteristic to those days and many cultural trends that were present at that time.

Why such literary genres? Why is it a historical novel first and foremost? As I mentioned before, 19^th century is an attractive form and, personally, fascinating to me, full of contradictions. Based on historical events, characters that really lived, I created the vision of perfect love[5] - that's why it's a romance at the same time. The main character only sees William in the world. Many things interest her, but he’s always the most important. Intrigued by certain psychological processes and laws that rule in history and world, I wanted to find answers to the questions that are often present in my novel. I didn’t want our Great Lady to be an ordinary rich housewife who can’t think. Therefore, it’s also a psychological novel with elements of philosophy and poetry, even drama.

Why does this journal become a diary? Why is it a modern silva[6] about the past? How do the past and present inspire me? These are the questions for which the answers are already loading...

In the beginning there was a general plan. It was supposed to be ten notes, a short story, a response to… the music of my beloved band[7]. Such a synthesis of arts[8]. Later, I liked the characters that were loosely based on history. I started making detailed plans for many future notes. Many unplanned structures entered the text. This is how poetry and drama appeared. It was an impulse, a sudden change of wind, a new vision of a novel and art. It was supposed to be a classical novel that teaches life and history. I wanted it to be an imitation of life - sometimes a lot happens, sometimes rich people get bored... Many times, the workshop has become unpredictable and you have to stick to the realism of the inner world... That's why the journal has become a diary. That's why the story became a silva.

Inspirations. Except historical books and music, I was inspired by life, travels and literature. In this essay, I would like to focus on remake of historical events that I have taken from classic novels as well as from historical books. So many have been read because of a very normal human curiosity. If they turn out to be well-written and engaging me emotionally - then note by note this novel is created. Each note refers to specific fragments of the prototypes, sometimes one sentence is enough.

It would be good to illustrate it with few examples. A first, the basics of the main character’s name. I started writing this novel in 2019 and my female character was nameless then. It was supposed to stay that way until I reached for the book entitled Lady in Puławy by Gabriela Pauszer-Klonowska, which I bought right in Puławy. Izabela Czartoryska[9], her name, her palace, her story inspired me to give my lady her own identity. Many elements, as well as her name, have been transferred into my fictional world of novel. In my mind, Elizabeth moved to the palace in Puławy. Many of Czartoryska's experiences have become her own. Just like her name. After all, her real official name was Elizabeth (Elżbieta)! She was only called Izabela and that is how she remained in the memory of posterity.

Other important books are Na skalnym Podhalu by Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and On the Mountain Pass: impressions and images from the Tatras by Stanisław Witkiewicz. Thanks to reading these books (by me), Elizabeth went to some undefined mountains, but of course I tried to describe the Tatra Mountains and the Bieszczady Mountains (I was in the latter once). The fact that I was thinking about the Tatra Mountains, which I have never been to, gives this Mountain Chapter a certain nature of an abstract idea of ​​the highlander region. The lady's adventures and the landscape have become universal. The fact of such a trip in 1819 also makes the character of the novel a prophetess. She predicted the popularity of Zakopane at the beginning of the 19^th century.

Anyway, the desire to show the entire 19^th century from a European perspective means that Elizabeth could sense many trends already then, in the mountains of 1819.

Some may even be outraged by such events... as the meeting with Adam Mickiewicz, Andrzej Towiański and Mother Makryna. The characters known thanks to Polish Romanticism play their part so early in my novel[10]. No, it's unreal! What a historical novel it is! In my unique version everything is possible. That’s a hybrid. Inspired by Jacek Dehnel's novel, Mother Makryna, I wanted to present a metaphysical trend in my story. These characters are masked, detached from their ideas, thanks to which the historicity and reality of the 19^th century remain intact. Who said that such people couldn’t live somewhere in the world at that time? And not have similar beliefs?

The same thing with marriage. Marriages were political then. People used to get married because of property and social positions. Love existed only among lovers and therefore many illegitimate children were born. Izabela Czartoryska herself is a good example. Her youth coincided with the Enlightenment and the slow decline of the country. Those times were undoubtedly rotten and broken. Izabela had only the first child with her husband, Adam Kazimierz, and she was able to cheat on lover with another lover. These types of threads appear in my novel among the minor characters. First of all, I wanted to create the perfect love story, full of romantic things. After all, idealism is a typical 19^th-century trait.

Two other books that I must mention at the end are Pan Tadeusz (Mr. Tadeusz) by Adam Mickiewicz and Ozimina by Wacław Berent. One character - Jew playing cymbals - appears in my story thanks to this national epic, while the description of the salon was inspired by the latter novel by Berent. Anyway, Mickiewicz without a name appears here, in my novel very often... Also, during the artistic evening.

Now few words about history, characters, and places. The health resort and the bathhouse are of course a concept based on the transformation of Nałęczów - a health resort eagerly visited by Bolesław Prus, Stefan Żeromski and even Henryk Sienkiewicz[11] - and the idea of ​​the Izabela Czartoryska’s national museum. The Gothic House here simply fulfil a different, hybrid, bridge function. The Royal Łazienki is also an important model. The Lubomirski’s Baths were converted into the Palace on the Water. And King Stanisław August Poniatowski himself is also remembered by the characters of the novel. This is the brother of Elizabeth, the main character. In fact, he was Czartoryska's cousin and lover, and Maria Wirtemberska was their daughter. Izabela had two older daughters accepted by Adam (husband) - Teresa and Maria[12]. Teresa died young because of burn. The name of the novel main character’s daughter is Mary, and that is Maria - the future author of Malwina[13].

Izabela also met many influential people, including Jean Jacques Rousseau, that's why Jane - her friend - is actually... Jane Austen. Biographical facts also appear in the thread of visiting Malbork. Czartoryska created the first museum in these Polish lands, so her love for collecting objects and love to history also had to be seen in the novel. By the way, a bit of Romanticism creeps into this thread with castle. This epoque owes a lot to the Middle Ages and it returned to it with pleasure[14]. How could not this appear in my novel? Izabela also liked to take a part in theatre plays. Mother Spartan by Kajetan Koźmian[15] is a play litarally written for her, so my Elizabeth wrote the play herself. Both ladies also wrote poems and other things.

Finally, I would like to mention that the fact that the palace in Puławy was adopted as the protagonist's own home does not prevent describing the park and Wilanów gardens. On the other hand, menagerie is nothing else than Morysin on the other side of the lake in Wilanów[16].

The time has come for some final questions. How does literature change when it’s written on the Internet in the form of blog? Perhaps the only difference is that this form forces the author to divide the novel into episodes. Writing week by week is like the positivist novels that were published in the newspapers. An additional advantage of such a modern narrative story is the fact that you can efficiently correct errors, add new content or additions in the meantime. Personally, this allowed me to add a few extra pages to make my novel more attractive, according to polls.

As I have already mentioned the positivists, I must also mention realism. This technique allows you to create a world you believe in. Descriptions of real places and objects allow this. The fact that I don't have to name everything let the story to be universal. Places and names lose their meanings and clarity due to the sheer weight of history. History itself matters the most then. Each representative of a different culture can then substitute names that they know the best.

The punch line - is it really a novel about a hysterical woman? What does a wounded soul like Elizabeth really need? Understanding, care, love, need to forget past wrongs. Then it’s possible to open up to a new life. Fulfilment in love allows you to fulfil your whole life.

Sincerely, Allysa Agnes

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[1] Gall Anonim (Engl. Gallus Anonymus) – Author of the oldest chronicle from 12^th century. Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about him, even his name, but this is a very important historical source about the oldest history of Poland.

[2] Bolesław Krzywousty – Polish prince to whom Gallus had been writing letters after each finished volume of his chronicles. He is also the main character of it. The best known for country partitions among his 4 sons + 1 more after his death. His sobriquet means crooked mouth or… breaking promises.

[3] Romanticism is believed to have started in Poland in 1820 when Adam Mickiewicz published his first book Ballads and Romances. He is the main romantic poet of this era. Until the second uprising this epoque had continued, that’s until 1863. Positivism is next.

[4] 19^th-century formation is made of three literary époques – Romanticism, Positivism and Young Poland. Positivism is the triumph of brain, science, and realism while Young Poland is a comeback to romantic idealism. This formation ends right with World War I.

[5] Example of such a perfect love which we know that existed in history for sure is that one between Jan III Sobieski (Engl. John III Sobieski) and his wife. My first academic papier was about love language in his letters to his – Marysieńka (Maria Kazimiera de La Grange d’Arquien or Marie Casimire). They both were king and queen of Poland in 17^th century. He was chosen to be a king after spectacular victory in one of battles of those times.

[6] Silva is such a genre where you can find literally everything. It is believed to be a popular shape of books nowadays.

[7] That’s The Driver Era.

[8] Thought typical for the turn of century… You know, l'art pour l'art.

[9] Izabela Czartoryska was a Great Lady of her times (1746-1835). Enlightenment turned into Romanticism in front of her eyes. She saw the last king of Poland sadly ruling until the end (Poland was parted by three other countries completely in 1795), she saw Napoleon Bonaparte becoming stronger and she experienced the last political drama that touched her personally (she had to escape from Puławy and never come back) in 1830-1831. That’s the time of November Uprising. Also, as a duchess she was able to know the best people in society and she travelled a lot. Her family is believed to come from one of members of an old Lithuanian dynasty that ruled Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 14^th-16^th century. Also, her husband was considered to be the last king of Poland but Catherine II, tsarina, in the end chose her old lover – Stanisław Poniatowki – who seemed to her be more dependent from Russia than Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. In the end, Izabela raised 5 children, two died in childhood, always with other lovers. She wrote few books (travel diaries, book about gardens) and left poetry for us to admire right now.

[10] Imagine. 40s and 50s of 19^th century, Paris, Polish emigrants gather and publish their romantic books – Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki etc. Who’s around them too? Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (Izabela’s son, poet’s sponsor), Fryderyk Chopin (romantic pianist), Andrzej Towiański (philosopher, messiah); and Mother Makryna (the nun cheater) who met Mickiewicz and Towiański indeed. She even saw the pope etc.

[11] Polish writers popular in the second part of 19^th century. You can learn more on my page Recommended Books.

[12] One, the youngest child, was not accepted by Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. That’s because everybody knew they lived separately that year. Her name was Celina, but she lived at the court anyway.

[13] Maria Wirtemberska wrote Malvina, or the Heart’s Intuition (Malwina, czyli domyślność serca) (1816). It can be understood as the part of Enlightenment and Sentimentalism trend or Pre-Romanticism.

[14] Malbork was the capital city of Teutonic Order country in 14^th-15^th century. Medieval references were typical to Romanticism.

[15] Mother Spartan (Matka Spartanka) by Kajetan Koźmian is a theatre play which was inspired by Izabela Czartoryska and she played the main role in it. She was loved like that even as a 50-year-old woman.

[16] Wilanów (Lat. Villa nova). That’s the name of John III Sobieski’s residence which used to be a place situated a little further from Warsaw, the capital city, than now (it’s one of districts now). I recommend to check out the Gallery.