Fasces. Norwid’s intuitions in reading a symbol

Abstract

The article analyses the semantics of the fasces motif in the poem Quidam. The motif is present on various levels of the work: in the narrative aimed at rendering the historical flavour, in the statements and evaluations of the protagonists, as an element of narrative references to the contemporary era, and finally in the author’s comments in the footnotes. In each case, the negative meaning of the motif is emphasised, which relates to the threat to the freedom of an individual posed by the state and violence intrinsic to its politics, also visible in ritualistic communication, or – decades later – in the symbolism of architectural details of the fascist state of Mussolini. Norwid’s reflections on the etymologically related concept of fascination leads us to more general conclusions about the dominant opposition of truth and falsehood as one of the principal themes of his thought and artistic work.