Geografia i kolekcja. O inflanckim doświadczeniu Józefa Weyssenhoffa

Abstract

The article analyzes the manuscript recovered in Lithuania which is a personal account of Józef Weyssenhoff’s trip through Livonia at the end of the nineteenth century. Józef Weyssenhoff (1860–1932), the famous novelist and renowned “bard” of the landed gentry tradition, never recanted his Polish-Livonian roots. Thanks to his collector’s efforts we can now enjoy the invaluable documents on the history of the Weyssenhoff family. As his biography suggests Weyssenhoff’s travelling back to his homeland was influenced by something more than his intrinsic curiosity and collector’s passion. The author of the article investigates the significance of geography and enquires whether by reading these notes we can evaluate the writer’s attachment to the autobiographical place and whether the old Polish Livonia is a place of ancestors. Finally, the author identifies the function of emotions and senses in this personal creation and traces these planes of reference in the poetics of the text.