Rodzinne i środowiskowe uwarunkowania natury oraz losów Alberta Potockiego w świetle przekazów pamiętnikarskich

Abstract

The article aims at reflection upon the comments concering the character traits of Albert Potocki, Szeliga coat of arms, (1801—1848) — a poet and a traveller — and the circumstances of his actions, preserved in memoirs. Passages from diary entries written by people who met the squire or only heard of him — i.e. Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Leon Sapieha, Ewa Felińska, Paulina Wilkońska, Wirginia Jezierska, Andrzej Edward Koźmian and Kajetan Koźmian — were the material for the present deliberations. With the aim of presenting a holistic depiction of Potocki’s character, the main focus has been placed on the diary writing of the last of the aforementioned authors, a stern critic of his former ward’s conduct. In Kajetan Koźmian’s account two threads of consideration have been distinguished, in which the writer presented the sources of the negative judgements of Albert’s behaviour — family and environmental. The attention has also been paid to different ways of understanding the concept of nature with regard to the described character, emerging from the examined writing and dependent on the religious beliefs of the diarist. The questions raised in the article allowed for a broad elucidation of the reasons for Potocki’s actions in various moments of his life, which the author had presented.