Obraz Wschodu w twórczości Władysława Strzelnickiego

Abstract

The image of the East in the works of Władysław Strzelnicki is very complex. It is connected to the Caucasus experience as a place of exile. The well-articulated identity of a stranger-exile is based on the values of the Western world. The Strzelnicki’s image of the East is focused on the cultural space of Azerbaijan. He writes also about a fantasy, unreal, exotic world which is looked at from a distance by a Western incomer. In contrast to popular images of oriental despotism Strzelnicki creates the East as a land of freedom. Finally, the East in the author’s works is also a world of passion and battles. The East is a category of space and idea strictly related to evoking ambivalent feelings towards the Russian Empire.