Papers (artykuły, rozdziały) by Tomasz Wysłobocki
Miłość, przyjaźń, pożądanie w dawnych literaturach romanskich, 2021
Quand la Révolution française commence, peu sont parmi les Français ceux qui comprennent l’expres... more Quand la Révolution française commence, peu sont parmi les Français ceux qui comprennent l’expression « amour de la patrie », car sous le régime monarchique, on ne leur a parlé que de l’amour et du respect pour le roi. En septembre 1792, après la chute du trône et face à la guerre, le gouvernement révolutionnaire comprend que pour faire adhérer les Français à la communauté républicaine et les unir sous la bannière tricolore, il faut leur expliquer la nouvelle réalité de façon simple et efficace. Pour ce faire on utilise volontiers le théâtre, médium démocratique par excellence, comme lieu de propagation des nouvelles valeurs et idées. En effet, la scène devient l’« école primaire du peuple » où l’on enseigne entre autres comment un vrai patriote doit être et agir. Le présent article étudie quatre pièces composées sous la Terreur afin de voir comment les dramaturges révolutionnaires pensaient le patriotisme et par quels moyens ils le propageaient.
Rocznik Komparatystyczny, 2020
The main goal of the article is to inscribe the formation, at the turn of the 18th century, of th... more The main goal of the article is to inscribe the formation, at the turn of the 18th century, of the melodrama in a broader context in order to show that the creation of this dramatic genre was not a result of one man’s talent or pure coincidence but actually a result of the historical process and numerous social and aesthetic tendencies that had been influencing the French theatre over previous decades. All these transformations that would eventually get compounded into melodrama, appearing throughout the century, have been observed and commented on, demonstrating once again that theatre is a never-ending story of making and becoming.
Romanica Wratislaviensia , 2020
C’est sur les inclinations sociales et politiques du théâtre entre les XVIIe et XIXe siècles que ... more C’est sur les inclinations sociales et politiques du théâtre entre les XVIIe et XIXe siècles que porte le présent volume de "Romanica Wratislaviensia". Ses contributeurs, venant de plusieurs pays (France, Italie, Allemagne, Pologne), experts de multiples domaines (historiens, littéraires, historiens de l’art, traductologues) et spécialistes de trois époques historiques différentes, se penchent sur le riche patrimoine scénique européen pour réfléchir ensemble sur l’influence du théâtre sur les contemporains, ainsi que sur l’ascendant des conditions historiques sur la création dramaturgique de l’époque.
Pluralités européennes. "Quand regarder fait lire. Nouveaux défis dans l’enseignement des littératures de langue française", 2019
Teaching culture and literature of the past at the university is not easy, even at language studi... more Teaching culture and literature of the past at the university is not easy, even at language studies departments where students are supposed to be willing to read books and learn about the history and culture of foreign countries. It appears that young people are reluctant to express themselves in academic classes and prefer to wait passively for the teacher to dictate them what is worth noting. In my opinion, this is not what academic lectures should look like. The university should use different means, adapted at best to the contemporary students’ profiles, to help them learn how to think critically and to debate democratically. The great responsibility of the university is to form future citizens. This much depends on the academic teachers who elaborate the lecture programs and ought to shape a creative atmosphere in their classes, a base for the exchange of ideas and opinions, which is essential to prepare students for their adult life.
Romanica cracoviensia, 2018
Carbon de Flins des Oliviers writes ‘Le réveil d’Épiménide à Paris’ at the beginning of 1790, in ... more Carbon de Flins des Oliviers writes ‘Le réveil d’Épiménide à Paris’ at the beginning of 1790, in the spirit of general enthusiasm for the French Revolution. The play is a big success, with 26 representations over a year. But surprisingly for a contemporary reader, its author has some bitter observations on the recent events and tries to show to the public, among other things, the dangers of boundless freedom of speech proclaimed by the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’. He exhorts the French, as they remain active and vigorous actors on the revolutionary stage, to contemplate actively the political changes, for they can always distinguish lie form truth and for nobody can manipulates them.
Fabula / Les colloques: "Théâtre et scandale", 2019
L’objectif de l'article est de retracer le combat d’Olympe de Gouges contre la Comédie-Française ... more L’objectif de l'article est de retracer le combat d’Olympe de Gouges contre la Comédie-Française provoqué par sa pièce "Zamore et Mirza, ou l’heureux naufrage", qui portait sur un sujet très controversé : l’esclavage des Noirs dans les colonies. En 1784, au tout début de sa carrière littéraire et dramaturgique, de Gouges envoie sa pièce au théâtre royal, qui l’accepte. Un sujet moral et politique audacieux, une intrigue bien conçue, des personnages émouvants au goût de l’époque : n’était ce pas assez pour qu’une pièce réussisse ? Pourtant, pendant cinq ans, les acteurs refuseront, pour bien des raisons, de la porter sur scène ; ils multiplieront les excuses et les prétextes afin de repousser la première.
The aim of this article is to discuss the place of the literature of past centuries in the romanc... more The aim of this article is to discuss the place of the literature of past centuries in the romance philology teaching programmes. I accentuate the social importance of literary subjects at the university in the making of future citizens responsible for the common good, as well as the social importance of literature itself. Furthermore, I emphasize the role of scholars who are assumed not only to bring knowledge to their students, but also to teach them essential social skills. The analysis is based on my ten-year academic experience of specialist in the history of literature and history of the French Enlightenment.
Revolutionary ideologists and legislators quite soon realised that the most important for the dur... more Revolutionary ideologists and legislators quite soon realised that the most important for the durability of the Revolution was the moral regeneration of the whole nation, as it remained socially corrupt and profoundly damaged by the Ancient Regime. Theatre was to become the medium of utmost importance in this “national regeneration” in which it was going to partake by spreading the revolutionary ideology throughout France. It was at the theatre that the French were given republican lessons, the French family, with its customs, traditions and abuses, becoming one of the major objects of revolutionary propaganda. The article demonstrates how divorce as an instrument of correction or liberation was introduced into the theatrical repertoire and discourse, and in what ways playwrights exploited it. To do so, four plays created during the revolutionary period and with the word “divorce” in the title have been selected for analysis.
Artykuł omawia najważniejsze zmiany i reformy, zarówno formalne, instytucjonalne, jak i estetyczn... more Artykuł omawia najważniejsze zmiany i reformy, zarówno formalne, instytucjonalne, jak i estetyczne, w teatrze w pierwszych latach trwania Rewolucji Francuskiej.
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The article describes the most significant formal, institutional, as well as aestetic changes and reforms in the French theatre of the Revolution.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the major figures of the French Revolution, even though he died ... more Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the major figures of the French Revolution, even though he died a few years before the Bastille was taken. Many politicians considered his moral treaties on how to regenerate the corrupted and spoiled nation as a guide for conducting the Revolution. The philosopher was largely venerated by the republican revolutionaries for being the one who gave back to the French the liberty and dignity they had been deprived of by the Ancien Régime. As the democratisation of the public opinion influenced art, popular playwrights used the philosopher’s popularity and put him in their theatrical productions, despite all Rousseau’s anterior protestations against the institution of the theatre, considered as a place of social destruction and moral licentiousness. The aim of this article is to retrace the process of revolutionary “mythologisation” of Jean-Jacques by analysing two plays in which he was introduced as a main character. Simultaneously, the article investigates which elements of Rousseau’s philosophy appear in both productions to reveal the influence of his thought on republican society and politics; for theatre became an important instrument of revolutionary propaganda.
Society of Revolutionary Republican Women was the only political club founded by women and design... more Society of Revolutionary Republican Women was the only political club founded by women and designed exclusively for “the sex” during the French Revolution. ! e club’s history is short, for it functioned for only some six months. However, it played an important role in the reversal of the government of the Girondins, leaving free way for Robespierre to establish in France the revolutionary Terror. Despite the Revolutionary Republican Women’s commitment to the cause, the jacobinic government decided to dismiss the club, arguing that women’s place was at home by their husband and children and not in the public and political forum, for the Nature decided it to be like that.
When the French Revolution begins, nobody seems to be prepared for such political and social rupt... more When the French Revolution begins, nobody seems to be prepared for such political and social rupture. Language first tries to adapt to the changing conditions – new words appear, which is a necessity of the moment, to reflect new realities as well as to build national community based on the same new values and symbols. At the beginning these words stay largely unknown or neglected by uneducated people, especially from the bottom of the social ladder – they simply do not understand exactly what all the politicians debate about. Also do some old terms change their conventional signification. Thus, number of dictionaries are edited to explain those new words to the people – revolutionary authorities soon realize that this must become a priority. These reference books show nevertheless a subjective vision of the Revolution. The aim of this article is to retrace the narration of those dictionaries in, of course, a very limited perspective.
When in August 1789 National Constituent Assembly announced Declaration of the rights of man and ... more When in August 1789 National Constituent Assembly announced Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen it could seem that finally humanity entered the times of freedom and equality. However, inequality persisted or even, paradoxically, it was democratically
declared by the National Assembly which, though it destroyed the structures of ancient regime, at the same time designed new order that was by no means equal and just. The main losers in the political game were women, though the very term loser would imply that they had significant rights before; thus, it seems better to say that they earned nearly nothing in the process of revolutionary changes. Such a situation is all the more surprising once one realizes that women themselves brought royal family from Versailles to Paris, organized the net of folk self-help centres and, with time, contributed to overthrowing Gironde government. Yet in 1789 Sieyès, one of the coauthors of the
Declaration, wrote enigmatically that women, at least in present state of affairs, foreigners and children should not in any respect affect the events of public importance. Hence,though it has been commonly claimed that Revolution brought freedom to women in form of divorce (established in September 1792), one needs to have in mind, as Fanny Raoul aptly said, that if divorce was not in the interest of men, women would not have it till today. Women, then, were denied political rights and direct influence on public matters. Even Jacobin constitution (1793), which made parliamentary elections general, did not grant voting rights to women! They, however, were not easily barred from public sphere and they used every opportunity to manifest their political views, social aspiration and patriotic beliefs. The present article illustrates the logics of female exclusion and the motivation of then law givers and moralists, both all the more interesting as they have determined the social status of women for the long nineteenth century and half of the twentieth century. The end of the said rhetoric came, at least in the Western countries,with democratic and feminist changes of the second half of the twentieth century. In addition to such observations, the present paper reminds also about the so far silenced achievements of French women on the Revolutionary area.
Dès son début, la révolution cherche un moyen de régénérer l’état et la société française de l’An... more Dès son début, la révolution cherche un moyen de régénérer l’état et la société française de l’Ancien Régime, stigmatisés comme corrompus et immoraux. On trouve les préceptes pour les réformes visées entre autre, et surtout, chez Jean Jacques Rousseau qui, tout au long du XVIIIème siècle, appelait les Français à se corriger et à rejeter les abus et les préjugés qui ont défiguré la vraie nature des choses et des institutions primitives. Olympe de Gouges, elle, veut aussi participer au mouvement réformateur et se lance dans le tourbillon révolutionnaire, mais elle se heurte au mur des préjugés environnant toujours son sexe. Toutefois, elle se sert habilement de certaines opinions de Rousseau, devenu l’idole des politiciens républicains, pour mieux asseoir sa présence sur le forum public.
This article amis to recall and analyse political and social views on women of an unknown today r... more This article amis to recall and analyse political and social views on women of an unknown today revolutionary politician - Charles-Louis Rousseau.
In Old Regime France, women were deprived of public functions and privileges. But not all of them... more In Old Regime France, women were deprived of public functions and privileges. But not all of them, especially those from high society, wanted to give up their social or political ambitions. So they opened literary salons throughout France. Eventually, some of those salonnières started to write. But they were inexperienced, poorly educated and politically marginalised. All they knew was sentimental life and mondain intrigues. That’s why romance novel became their favourite genre. Although this literary form of expression was despised by male critics and moralists and did not have precise rules, it gave female authors creative and formal freedom they were looking for. The intimate world of an individual, described in romance novels, became their domain and cleared the way for modern writers of the 19th century.
The aim of this article is to show the way women were represented in the revolutionary theatre of... more The aim of this article is to show the way women were represented in the revolutionary theatre of the times of Great Terror (1793-1794). After three years of social and political changes brought by the Revolution women are no longer shown as possessions of their families or husbands. Although marriage remains the focus of their existence, they all fight to have a good life and to make good couple with a respectful partner, rather than with an all-mighty master who despises them. Many of female characters we meet are very independent and self-conscious – especially the younger generation who are well aware of the possibility of divorce. Men change too; fathers no longer decide for their daughters, while unfaithful husbands improve their behaviour, as they all know that the basis of general and personal happiness is a happy marriage.
With the arrival of Jacobin government, the French Revolution became ideologically more democrati... more With the arrival of Jacobin government, the French Revolution became ideologically more democratic. The newly elected deputies to the National Convention voted a law of unprecedented importance, introducing in the freshly established Republic a system of compulsory and free education. But there was not enough time to set up proper educational institutions. Thus authors, moralists and parents gave succour to the Jacobin government – a number of home teaching schoolbooks appeared at that time in order to help to instruct the young generation which became of first importance for the revolution itself, as those who were to continue the great revolutionary work. Hence, the republican education became not only a duty for children but also an obligation for their parents.
When 1789 comes, the second generation of French novelists let themselves be involved in the refo... more When 1789 comes, the second generation of French novelists let themselves be involved in the reformatory movement, abandoning their ‘literary duties’. Their younger colleagues are still too inexperienced to reach for a pen and describe the fast-changing reality they live in; for this they will need some temporal and/or spatial distance. Meanwhile, it turns out that what was once considered to be just a significant evolution has now become a real and ultimate Revolution that changes everything. In such a ‘regenerated’ state there is no longer room for any remains of the hateful Ancien Régime. This is how the novel, as it developed during the eighteenth century, becomes one of the first victims of the new revolutionary taste and is now stigmatised as an emblem of ci-devant depraved aristocratic society. A reformed theatre, political speeches and journalistic genres successfully supplant the novel, considered no longer capable of providing all citizens with the up-to-date information they need. Moreover, when in revolutionary France heads start to fall, at which point a promising reality starts changing into a sanguinary nightmare, novelists seem intellectually paralysed and find themselves in suffering from a kind of ‘creative impotence’ that will not pass until the revolution is finished.
Revolutionary politicians and philosophers quite soon understood that it was the young generation... more Revolutionary politicians and philosophers quite soon understood that it was the young generation who would pursue and preserve their work. What at the time was called the ‘regeneration of the French nation’ would therefore only depend on young children, who would not have any memories of the Old Regime. Thus, a system of compulsory and free education was conceived to support the government’s mission to inculcate republican values in society’s youngest members. However, setting up a whole new educational system was not an easy task, and surely not as speedy as one would have imagined. In those circumstances, some writers and moralists decided to endorse the governmental efforts; manuals for home teaching started to appear throughout France in order to pass revolutionary ethics to both children and their tutors.
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Papers (artykuły, rozdziały) by Tomasz Wysłobocki
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The article describes the most significant formal, institutional, as well as aestetic changes and reforms in the French theatre of the Revolution.
declared by the National Assembly which, though it destroyed the structures of ancient regime, at the same time designed new order that was by no means equal and just. The main losers in the political game were women, though the very term loser would imply that they had significant rights before; thus, it seems better to say that they earned nearly nothing in the process of revolutionary changes. Such a situation is all the more surprising once one realizes that women themselves brought royal family from Versailles to Paris, organized the net of folk self-help centres and, with time, contributed to overthrowing Gironde government. Yet in 1789 Sieyès, one of the coauthors of the
Declaration, wrote enigmatically that women, at least in present state of affairs, foreigners and children should not in any respect affect the events of public importance. Hence,though it has been commonly claimed that Revolution brought freedom to women in form of divorce (established in September 1792), one needs to have in mind, as Fanny Raoul aptly said, that if divorce was not in the interest of men, women would not have it till today. Women, then, were denied political rights and direct influence on public matters. Even Jacobin constitution (1793), which made parliamentary elections general, did not grant voting rights to women! They, however, were not easily barred from public sphere and they used every opportunity to manifest their political views, social aspiration and patriotic beliefs. The present article illustrates the logics of female exclusion and the motivation of then law givers and moralists, both all the more interesting as they have determined the social status of women for the long nineteenth century and half of the twentieth century. The end of the said rhetoric came, at least in the Western countries,with democratic and feminist changes of the second half of the twentieth century. In addition to such observations, the present paper reminds also about the so far silenced achievements of French women on the Revolutionary area.
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The article describes the most significant formal, institutional, as well as aestetic changes and reforms in the French theatre of the Revolution.
declared by the National Assembly which, though it destroyed the structures of ancient regime, at the same time designed new order that was by no means equal and just. The main losers in the political game were women, though the very term loser would imply that they had significant rights before; thus, it seems better to say that they earned nearly nothing in the process of revolutionary changes. Such a situation is all the more surprising once one realizes that women themselves brought royal family from Versailles to Paris, organized the net of folk self-help centres and, with time, contributed to overthrowing Gironde government. Yet in 1789 Sieyès, one of the coauthors of the
Declaration, wrote enigmatically that women, at least in present state of affairs, foreigners and children should not in any respect affect the events of public importance. Hence,though it has been commonly claimed that Revolution brought freedom to women in form of divorce (established in September 1792), one needs to have in mind, as Fanny Raoul aptly said, that if divorce was not in the interest of men, women would not have it till today. Women, then, were denied political rights and direct influence on public matters. Even Jacobin constitution (1793), which made parliamentary elections general, did not grant voting rights to women! They, however, were not easily barred from public sphere and they used every opportunity to manifest their political views, social aspiration and patriotic beliefs. The present article illustrates the logics of female exclusion and the motivation of then law givers and moralists, both all the more interesting as they have determined the social status of women for the long nineteenth century and half of the twentieth century. The end of the said rhetoric came, at least in the Western countries,with democratic and feminist changes of the second half of the twentieth century. In addition to such observations, the present paper reminds also about the so far silenced achievements of French women on the Revolutionary area.
(ANG) The most important ideas of the French Enlightenment in polish and french with author's commentary.