Perlinska, Agnieszka. Letters as literature: The private correspondence of Cyprian Kamil Norwid. New York University, 1994, 220 pp.

This dissertation investigates the personal correspondence of the nineteenth century Polish poet, Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821-1883), within the critical framework of epistolarity. Although Norwid's letters have been a primary source for both the reconstruction of his biography and for the study of his ideas, they contain a self-modeled image of Norwid that can neither be classified as fiction nor can it be considered his true portrait. This study presents the body of Norwid's letters as an extension of his creative efforts and shows how the poet constructs a distinct image of self deeply grounded in the epistolary tradition.

The Introduction provides an overview of the main trends of epistolarity: the familiar letter, the moral verse epistle, the love letter, and the genre of the epistolary novel. It further raises a series of theoretical issues related to the study of private correspondence such as self- referentiality, the illusion of non-fictionality, the paradoxical nature of letters, and the flexibility of letters stemming from their status on the edge of literature.

Norwid's personal correspondence incorporates many epistolary traditions. The first chapter discusses Norwid's conscious use of the devices of the epistolary genres, demonstrating how the poet drew upon and broke the conventions of letter writing. The second chapter provides an overview of Norwid's epistolary activity. It distinguishes the main themes of his letters, analyzes their style, and points out similarities between Norwid's personal correspondence and his creative works. The third chapter traces the development of Norwid's "writing self" through its dialogic relationship with others. The fourth chapter shows how the poet's epistolary self is built upon the interplay between three main themes of epistolarity: love, friendship, and exile.

In sum, the body of Norwid's letters, like the body of his creative work, operates within a set of names, themes, motifs, and literary associations that unite his private life with his poetic imagination. By extracting from his private experiences matters of universal importance, Norwid created an epistolary "I" that remained consistent throughout his life and was subordinated to wider social, national and philosophical concerns.

Advisor: Claudio Guillen

UMI Order No: AAC 9514411

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