| In the final scenes of the
Trilogy, one of Sienkiewicz's major personae, Michael Wolodyjowski (who
has been characteristically evolving from an insecure fun figure into a
national hero throughout the three novels) forsakes his good life and
his loving wife and prefers to die than to surrender the city he's been
charged with defending to the enemy (in this case, the infidel Turks).
But, although betrayed by 'merchants and politicians,' his sacrifice
will not be in vain: his nation will soon rally (the broken sword
scene!) and conquer. Click
to play a late 1960's film adaptation.
|
The most powerful reinforcement of the Romantic early-19th-century
myth came at the very end of that century with the historical novels of
the 1905 Nobel Prize Winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz. His epic Trilogy,
especially, set against the historical background of various Polish wars
of the 17th century, installed in the Poles' collective consciousness a
powerful mythology. The motto of the series, 'ku pokrzepieniu serc,'
which had been variously translated into English as the 'uplifting,' 'strengthening,'
or 'comforting' of the hearts. Appealing to memories of the days of
power, it enhanced the value of individual sacrifice, courage, and
heroism.
|
