Listy Jana Sobieskiego z lat 1665-1666 jako źródło czarnej legendy Marii Kazimiery

Abstract

The letters of John Sobieski, future King John III Sobieski (r. 1674—1696), to his wife, Mary Casimire (1641—1716), show the love they shared. The early literary readings of their correspondence cast aspersions on the loving couple and painted a picture of an affectionate man and a manipulative woman. Their relationship was considered an outcome of Sobieski’s naivety and Mary Casimire’s attempts to make him follow the influences of her former mentor, the Queen Dowager Marie Louise Gonzaga (1611—1667), the widow of King Władysław IV Vasa (r. 1632—1648) and King John II Casimir Vasa (r. 1648—1668). The wife’s favours were supposed to be a poor reward for Sobieski’s obedience and the letters were supposed to attest to his sufferings. However, in their early readings and interpretations fragments confirming Mary Casimire’s affection for her husband were ignored. Early analysis of the correspondence failed to take into account the conventions of the Baroque exaggeration and of the pastoral romance, both of which are visible in Sobieski’s condition. The letters abound in egotistic complaining and their analysis allows one to notice fragments in which the author contradicts himself — either blaming his wife or emphasising her undeniable emotional engagement. Therefore, by creating the image of Mary Casimire as an emotionless shrew, historiography departed from the image that can be found in Jan Sobieski’s letters.