Literary Outlooks on Women Implicated in the Greek Revolution: The Case of Józef Dunin-Borkowski’s Philhellenic Poems
(EN)
Róża Janion, Ewa
This article analyses the philhellenic poems of Polish romantic poet Józef Dunin-Borkowski with the focus on gender representation. It discusses the four roles envisagedby Dunin-Borkowski for women: as war casualties, soldiers’ lovers, sexual slaves of theenemy and heroines taking part in armed combat. It argues that Dunin-Borkowski castsa vision of femininity that is different from the parlour or domestic model, subordinatedto the cause of the homeland’s freedom. The Greek woman in his oeuvre is often anautonomous individual, actively involved in public affairs, while Greece is presented as anEnlightenment utopia, a project of universal emancipation and also of women’s freedom.Therefore, Dunin-Borkowski’s poems can be read as an attempt to formulate a modernimage of emancipation in the contexts of debates on democracy, slavery and women’sliberation.
(EN)
