Między pamiętaniem a zapominaniem. Społeczne aspekty asymilacji w opowiadaniach migracyjnych Henryka Sienkiewicza

Abstract

In the article I try to highlight one of the most important issues of the Polish nineteenth century, namely cultural assimilation. In the aftermath of partitions Polish intellectual and social elites as well as ordinary people were forced to collaborate to some extent with Russian authorities. This complex political situation affected the attitudes of the Poles towards their own national culture. However, the consequences of resulting dilemmas could not be discussed in public due to the restrictions of the patriotic taboo. Some writers broke the rules by writing in their works about the issues of remembering and forgetting, which evoked the problems related to cultural assimilation. One of the most interesting and representative examples of this literary strategy are “migration” narratives by Henryk Sienkiewicz.