Between Private Reflection and Public Debate: Oktawia Głowacka and Bolesław Prus toward Juliusz Słowacki

Abstract

The article examines the unpublished correspondence of Oktawia Głowacka from the collections of the Bolesław Prus Museum and reconstructs Prus’s scattered statements on the work of Juliusz Słowacki. The widow’s letters provide a point of departure for examining the reception of Słowacki’s legacy in Prus’s journalism and literary criticism. The perspective of widowhood makes it possible to view Oktawia Głowacka’s remarks as a testimony of private reflection that nevertheless remains in dialogue with her husband’s views. The reference to the repatriation of the poet’s remains in 1927 prompts a reassessment of Prus’s statements, particularly his critique of the reception of Romanticism and his appreciation of a realist conception of literature and Positivist ideals. Juxtaposing Oktawia’s remarks with her husband’s extensive reflections reveals the tension between private memory and public literary discourse.