W kręgu psychoestetyki nowej sztuki. Ignacego Matuszewskiego interpretacja problemów wojny w Popiołach Żeromskiego

Abstract

The problem of war in Popioły (Ashes) by Żeromski is characterized by multilateral vision, presented from different perspectives: the psychological, philosophical, ethical, political and sociological ones, interpreted by Ignacy Matuszewski with the psychoaesthetics of the new art key. He makes his interpretation even more profound with the metaphysical aspect of war, taken up by Żeromski mainly in the chapter Gnosis, as an everlasting struggle between good and evil. No one from among his contemporary literature critics and historians interpreted this war issues in such a wide spectrum, and at the same time so profoundly. It is mainly because war issues – as numerous works assert, from extreme militarists to fundamental pacifists – are exceptionally complex and polarize extreme estimations. Polarization of those appraisals goes even deeper because of the inter-subjective psychical predispositions, influenced by individual attitudes towards ethical norms, subjected to historical determinants and current political games. This sum of aspects was approached by Matuszewski analytically, admittedly not providing a full interpretational synthesis, but rather indicating crucial directions of further reflection focused on these issues in Żeromski’s novel, and also specifying the key ideological, psychological and aesthetical dominants of his writings.