Dawno temu w Maripozie : Wańkowicz na tropach Sienkiewicza

Abstract

The paper juxtaposes Henryk Sienkiewicz’s travels in America with those of Melchior Wańkowicz a century later, no doubt inspired by a reading of the former’s Listy z podróży do Ameryki (“Letters from a Journey to America”). The author focuses on the Mariposa incident, narrated first by Sienkiewicz in his famous short story, and then commented upon by Wańkowicz the reporter, who came to the same location, in the footsteps of his great predecessor. Wańkowicz looked for parallels between Sienkiewicz’s American adventure and his own experience. He hoped that like Sienkiewicz, in the wake of his trip to the United States, he too would develop new writing strategies. Unfortunately, Wańkowicz’s plans to transform himself from a reporter into a novelist, thanks to his transatlantic excursion, did not come to fruition.