Sienkiewicz's Study of Vengence. The Thread of Adam Nowowiejski in the Novel Pan Wołodyjowski

Abstract

This article deals with the issue of the psychological dimension of characters in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trylogia. The example is Adam Nowowiejski from Pan Wołodyjowski (the third part of Trylogia).

The author treats the biography of his hero as an example of destructive influence of vengence on human life and the result of this study is a Christian-like manner evaluation of the events and feelings connected with the phenomenon of vengence. The conclusions of this article are the following (these are the new opinions in comparison with the previous literary critical statements):

1. Nowowiejski is indeed one of the main characters in the novel.
2. He represents a kind of romantic hero and it is the sign of Sienkiewicz's inclination towards this type of mentality and literature of the romantic epoch.
3. The psychological background is necessary to recognize and to value the characters in Sienkiewicz's historical novels.