Stefan Żeromski

October 14, 1864 (age 60)

Strawczyn, Poland

He was banished from Poland by the Russian government when he was a young man, and in 1895 he published, under the pseudonym of Maurycy Zych, a collection of tales, The Ravens and Crows are Picking Us to Pieces, depicting the grim aftermath of the abortive Polish uprising of 1863 against Russia. His first novel, Sisyphean Labors (1898), deals with the attempts of tsarist schools in Russian-occupied Poland to break the independent spirit of Polish youth. In Zeromski's subsequent works, social issues intertwine with national motifs. Social injustice is the central theme of the novel The Homeless (1900), whose hero, Dr. Judym, renounces personal happiness to dedicate himself entirely to the task of alleviating the lot of the dispossessed. Zeromski's best-known work, Ashes (1904), is an epic panorama of Polish national life during the period of the Napoleonic wars. Ethical and social problems of modern life reappear in the History of a Sin (1906), portraying with uncompromising realism the moral disintegration of a charming and cultivated woman, and in the trilogy The Fight Against Satan (1916 - 1919), where Zeromski weaves elaborate political discussions into a story of passionate and turbulent love. The atmosphere of gloom that pervades most of Zeromski's novels is conspicuously relieved in his works greeting the restoration of Poland's independence in 1918. However, his last novel, First Spring (1924), betrays grave concern over the future of the nation, prophesying that unless new Poland embarks upon vigorous social reform, its impatient youth may become easy prey to alien extremists. Zeromski published a number of dramas, but his only play to attain a marked success was My Little Quail Has Fled Away (1924), whose theme - the conflict between personal happiness and dedication to the cause - is strongly reminiscent of The Homeless.

Stefan Żeromski

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also known as Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla, Stefan Iksmoreż

dramatist novelist

Background

Stefan Żeromski was born on 14 October 1864 at Strawczyn, near Kielce (in an impoverished nobleman's family).

Career

He was banished from Poland by the Russian government when he was a young man, and in 1895 he published, under the pseudonym of Maurycy Zych, a collection of tales, The Ravens and Crows are Picking Us to Pieces, depicting the grim aftermath of the abortive Polish uprising of 1863 against Russia. His first novel, Sisyphean Labors (1898), deals with the attempts of tsarist schools in Russian-occupied Poland to break the independent spirit of Polish youth.

In Zeromski's subsequent works, social issues intertwine with national motifs. Social injustice is the central theme of the novel The Homeless (1900), whose hero, Dr. Judym, renounces personal happiness to dedicate himself entirely to the task of alleviating the lot of the dispossessed. Zeromski's best-known work, Ashes (1904), is an epic panorama of Polish national life during the period of the Napoleonic wars. Ethical and social problems of modern life reappear in the History of a Sin (1906), portraying with uncompromising realism the moral disintegration of a charming and cultivated woman, and in the trilogy The Fight Against Satan (1916 - 1919), where Zeromski weaves elaborate political discussions into a story of passionate and turbulent love. The atmosphere of gloom that pervades most of Zeromski's novels is conspicuously relieved in his works greeting the restoration of Poland's independence in 1918.

However, his last novel, First Spring (1924), betrays grave concern over the future of the nation, prophesying that unless new Poland embarks upon vigorous social reform, its impatient youth may become easy prey to alien extremists. Zeromski published a number of dramas, but his only play to attain a marked success was My Little Quail Has Fled Away (1924), whose theme - the conflict between personal happiness and dedication to the cause - is strongly reminiscent of The Homeless.

Achievements

He is rememberes as the author of his famous works - Przedwiośnie, Ludzie bezdomni, Popioły, Syzyfowe prace. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature".

Works

Ludzie bezdomni (Polish Edition) Ludzie bezdomni (Polish Edition)

book
- Ludzie bezdomni (Polish Edition)
  (Ludzie bezdomni is a novel written by Stefan Zeromski whi...)
- Dzieje grzechu

Connections

On 2 September 1892, he married a widow, Oktawia Rodkiewiczowa. In 1913 Żeromski started a new family with the painter Anna Zawadzka, whom he had met in 1908; they had a daughter, Monika.

Spouse:: Anna Zawadzka
Spouse:: Oktawia Rodkiewiczowa
Daughter:: Monika
Son:: Adam Żeromski

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