Świat uczonych w twórczości Jana Potockiego

Abstract

The work aims to analyze the writing achievements of Jan Potocki in the context of his fascination with science. It proves that the ‘scholar’ motive is an important determinant in the interpretation of Jan Potocki’s works. Characters appearing in the texts show to the reader writer beliefs and provoke discussion about the role of knowledge and learning in the eighteenth century. The first chapter intends to describe the figure of Jan Potocki as a scholar being fascinated by the science, which has an impact on his work as a writer. The second chapter combines and analyzes numerous characters of scientists which had been created in Jan Potocki’s works. The third part answers the question of whether the characters of scholars described in the works of Jan Potocki can be described by a specific ‘scientist ethos’ and how Jan Potocki referred to the philosophy of the Enlightenment. The last chapter places Jan Potocki against Polish literature and compares his work with achievements of Boleslaw Prus (another outstanding science enthusiast and writer).