The Concept of the Phantom in the Writings of Post-November Emigrants. Preliminary Remarks

Abstract

The figure of the phantom opened the way for young Romantics to a description of existence marked by metaphysical depth. However, it was only after the fall of the November Uprising – a spiritual defeat for an entire generation – that the concept of phantoms gained a special significance in Polish consciousness. At that point, it lost its function as a model for describing individual suffering, unfulfillment, rejection, and discord with the world. Instead, it became a metaphor for the condition of an entire community – a metaphor so broad that it transcended literary abstraction. Especially those who belonged to the Great Emigration lived with the stigma of exiles from beyond the grave. Their existence took on a cemetery-like dimension, revolving around the graves of deceased comrades and the futile efforts to resurrect their dead Motherland. The motif of phantoms, which, along with various images associated with death and existence in the afterlife, had initially inhabited the pages of Romantic literature, began to appear with increasing frequency in the émigré press, commemorative speeches, and other texts. It became a symbol of the insurgents’ unending mourning. As a result, the post-November exiles themselves began to refer to themselves as phantoms.