Tadeusz Bobrowski
Encyclopedia
Tadeusz Bobrowski was a Polish
memoirist and social activist, best known outside Poland as the maternal uncle, guardian and mentor
of Konrad Korzeniowski (later English-language novelist Joseph Conrad
).
County, Ukraine
(then part of the Russian Empire
), he was the son of Józef and Teofilia, née
Pilchowska, and brother of Stefan Bobrowski
, a leader of the Polish January 1863 Uprising
. Tadeusz attended secondary school till 1839 in Żytomierz, then in Kiev
.
In 1844 he matriculated in law at Kiev
; two years later, he transferred to St. Petersburg. Very gifted, in his 22nd year (1850) he left university with a master's degree
in international law
. He declined an offer to assume the chair in that subject at Kazan University, as he intended instead to devote himself to an administrative career.
These plans were upset by his father's death in 1850. Bobrowski had to return to the family estate at Oratów and look after his mother, his siblings and the running of the estate. As his portion of the family legacy he received the estate known as Kazimierówka.
(nobility), though he was capable of earning their respect; and so he did not play that social role to which he might otherwise have been entitled by his legal education and intellect.
Elected in 1858 as the delegate of Lipowiec County to the nobility's Committee for granting farmland to the peasants (uwłaszczenie), he became that Committee's delegate to a general Commission of three Ukrainian provinces: Kiev
, Volyn and Podole
. He was among the most active members of the Commission, the leader of a moderately progressive group that supported the outright granting of farmland to the peasants following a transitional rental (oczynszowanie) period.
In later years, Bobrowski became an unpaid judge in Lipowiec County.
He died on January 1, 1894, at Kazimierówka.
Bobrowski left a Memoir of no small literary value, a wide-ranging, richly-detailed picture of Ukrainian life in the mid-19th century, whose caustic character and numerous indiscretions evoked violent protests upon its publication in 1900. The Memoirs second volume, drawn from the Commission's minutes, is a valuable source on the history of the granting of farmland to Ukraine's peasants.
Bobrowska—Konrad Korzeniowski
, the future English novelist Joseph Conrad
. Before Conrad's father died in 1869, the boy was under Bobrowski's care in 1866-67, and later Bobrowski became his guardian. At first opposed to the boy's desire to become a sailor, he ultimately relented.
Over the next twenty years after Konrad went abroad in 1874, they saw each other all of four times: at news of Conrad's having been wounded in a duel
in Marseille
, Bobrowski went to him in March 1878; in the summer of 1883 they met in the Czech
spa
towns of Marienbad and Teplice
; in 1890 and 1893 Conrad spent two months, on each occasion, at his uncle's Kazimierówka. But, via ongoing correspondence, the uncle systematically influenced his nephew, admonished him—in particular, taught him constancy and fidelity to obligations once undertaken—and aided him financially.
Bobrowski was Conrad's constant link with Poland
, and exerted no little influence on him. Whatever positive aspects his character possessed, the novelist would later write, he owed to his uncle's devotion, solicitude and influence. "There is," writes Wiktor Weintraub, "naturally much exaggeration in this assertion of Conrad's, but it is a very characteristic exaggeration." Both of Conrad's autobiographical books, The Mirror of the Sea and especially A Personal Record
, contain heartfelt reminiscences of Bobrowski. Conrad dedicated his first novel, Almayer's Folly
, to his memory.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
memoirist and social activist, best known outside Poland as the maternal uncle, guardian and mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
of Konrad Korzeniowski (later English-language novelist Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
).
Early life
Born March 19, 1829, in Terechów, a village in BerdychivBerdychiv
Berdychiv is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Berdychiv Raion , the city itself is of direct oblast subordinance, and is located south of the oblast capital, Zhytomyr, at around .The current estimated population is around...
County, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
), he was the son of Józef and Teofilia, née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Pilchowska, and brother of Stefan Bobrowski
Stefan Bobrowski
Stefan Bobrowski was a Polish 19th-century politician and an activist for Polish independence...
, a leader of the Polish January 1863 Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
. Tadeusz attended secondary school till 1839 in Żytomierz, then in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
.
In 1844 he matriculated in law at Kiev
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
; two years later, he transferred to St. Petersburg. Very gifted, in his 22nd year (1850) he left university with a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. He declined an offer to assume the chair in that subject at Kazan University, as he intended instead to devote himself to an administrative career.
These plans were upset by his father's death in 1850. Bobrowski had to return to the family estate at Oratów and look after his mother, his siblings and the running of the estate. As his portion of the family legacy he received the estate known as Kazimierówka.
Politician
Taciturn and plain-spoken, a rationalist and an opponent of insurgencies, Bobrowski found little sympathy among the szlachtaSzlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
(nobility), though he was capable of earning their respect; and so he did not play that social role to which he might otherwise have been entitled by his legal education and intellect.
Elected in 1858 as the delegate of Lipowiec County to the nobility's Committee for granting farmland to the peasants (uwłaszczenie), he became that Committee's delegate to a general Commission of three Ukrainian provinces: Kiev
Kiev Oblast
Kyiv Oblast, sometimes written as Kiev Oblast is an oblast in central Ukraine.The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kyiv , also being the capital of Ukraine...
, Volyn and Podole
Podole
Podole may refer to:*Podolia, a region in Ukraine*Podole, Aleksandrów County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Podole, Lipno County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
. He was among the most active members of the Commission, the leader of a moderately progressive group that supported the outright granting of farmland to the peasants following a transitional rental (oczynszowanie) period.
In later years, Bobrowski became an unpaid judge in Lipowiec County.
He died on January 1, 1894, at Kazimierówka.
Bobrowski left a Memoir of no small literary value, a wide-ranging, richly-detailed picture of Ukrainian life in the mid-19th century, whose caustic character and numerous indiscretions evoked violent protests upon its publication in 1900. The Memoirs second volume, drawn from the Commission's minutes, is a valuable source on the history of the granting of farmland to Ukraine's peasants.
Conrad's mentor
A recluse, early bereft of his family (his wife died in childbirth in 1858, and his daughter in her 15th year), Bobrowski became deeply devoted to his nephew, the son of Ewelina Korzeniowska, néeNEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Bobrowska—Konrad Korzeniowski
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, the future English novelist Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
. Before Conrad's father died in 1869, the boy was under Bobrowski's care in 1866-67, and later Bobrowski became his guardian. At first opposed to the boy's desire to become a sailor, he ultimately relented.
Over the next twenty years after Konrad went abroad in 1874, they saw each other all of four times: at news of Conrad's having been wounded in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Bobrowski went to him in March 1878; in the summer of 1883 they met in the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
towns of Marienbad and Teplice
Teplice
Teplice , Teplice-Šanov until 1948 is a town in the Czech Republic, the capital of the Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is the state's second largest spa town ....
; in 1890 and 1893 Conrad spent two months, on each occasion, at his uncle's Kazimierówka. But, via ongoing correspondence, the uncle systematically influenced his nephew, admonished him—in particular, taught him constancy and fidelity to obligations once undertaken—and aided him financially.
Bobrowski was Conrad's constant link with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and exerted no little influence on him. Whatever positive aspects his character possessed, the novelist would later write, he owed to his uncle's devotion, solicitude and influence. "There is," writes Wiktor Weintraub, "naturally much exaggeration in this assertion of Conrad's, but it is a very characteristic exaggeration." Both of Conrad's autobiographical books, The Mirror of the Sea and especially A Personal Record
A Personal Record
A Personal Record is an autobiographical work by Joseph Conrad, published in 1912.It has also been published under the titles A Personal Record: Some Reminiscences and Some Reminiscences....
, contain heartfelt reminiscences of Bobrowski. Conrad dedicated his first novel, Almayer's Folly
Almayer's Folly
Almayer's Folly, published in 1895, is Joseph Conrad's first novel. Set in the late 19th century, it centers on the life of the Dutch trader Kaspar Almayer in the Borneo jungle and his relationship to his half-caste daughter Nina.-Plot:...
, to his memory.