Mr. Roman's friend: Isabella of Lutosławskie Wolikowska

Izabella of Lutosławskie Wolikowska (1889–1972) was an different figure: writer, translator, publicist and social activist who linked her life to the ideas of National Democracy. She came to live in an era of political and social change – from the late 19th century to the dramatic years of both planet wars to the emigration of destiny in Canada.

Her biography combines the destiny of a terrestrial household with strong patriotic roots with an individual choice of literary and ideological path. Wolikowska was not only a witness, but besides a associate of events that shaped modern Poland. Through her books, articles and activities in women's organizations, she expressed her attachment to conservative values, Catholicism and the conventional model of social life.

Origin and childhood

Isabella was born on 19 November 1889 in Moscow as the second of 4 daughters of the Spanish poet Sofía Casanova and Polish philosopher Wincent Lutosławski. Her family's composition has already revealed an extraordinary combination of cultures and traditions. On the 1 hand, the Spanish artistic sensitivity of the mother, on the another hand, the Polish Earth ethos of the father and the patriotic commitment of the Lutosław family.

The household was associated with the property of Drozdowo k. Łomża – a place that played a immense function in shaping the identity of Isabella. It was there that she was raised in an atmosphere of respect for agricultural work, Catholic tradition and national social engagement. In Lutosławski's house, the importance of values specified as honesty, attachment to the land and concern for the national community was emphasized. The young Isabella was influenced not only by household relations, but besides by close contact with a friend of the home Roman Dmowski – the perfect creator of Polish nationalism. This knowledge, over time turning into friendship, shaped her political views and inspired her to engage in publicist and literary activities, which she has been undertaking for young years.

Photo: Isabella with Sister Maria and Roman Dmowski

Youth and the Beginnings of Creative Activities

The period of youth of Izabella from Lutosławskie Wolikowska was a time of intense improvement of her artistic and intellectual interests. As a young woman, she showed a passion for art. She was curious in painting, especially in watercolor, and in 1910 she had a noticeable success in the artistic competition that the press was writing about. This episode shows that from the early years there was no alien creative activity, although literature and publicity were to become its main domain.

Already in 1911 the first translations by Isabella were published. These were the meditations of the Spanish author Victoriano García Martíego entitled “From the interior World”. Another crucial translations were published in 1925: Jacinto Benaventi's plays: “Bad Love”, “Grandson” and “Dream Tomb”. The choice of these works was not accidental. They referred to the catalogue of values close to Isabella and her family: conservatism, patriotism, Catholicism. So it was not just artistic, but besides ideological. Translations were regarded as a tool for spreading values that she considered to be crucial for shaping Polish national identity. During this period, the influence of the national environment, with which Isabella was associated thanks to Father Vincent and close relations with Roman Dmowski, was peculiarly strong.

It was not only a relationship with Dmowski, but besides an perfect relationship. Isabella shared the view of the peculiar function of Catholic religion, the conventional division of social roles and the conservative values in building a strong nation. However, attempts to engage more straight in politics by her and her sister Maria met mixed reactions. Dmowski himself criticized women's leaving besides far apart from their social role, although he besides appreciated the value of their support in intermediate forms, specified as the publicist or activity in women's organizations.

The so-shaped youthful activity of Isabella became the foundation for her later writing activities, which not only served to describe the world, but besides aimed at shaping social attitudes consistent with its conservative and national outlook.

Family Life and War

In the life of Izabella from Lutosławskie Wolikowska, a very crucial function was played by the family, both from whom she came and her own, which she founded in adult life. In 1921 she married Romuald Wolikowski, an officer of the Polish Army who reached the rank of Brigadier General. This matrimony not only established her social position, but besides strengthened her individual sense of work for national affairs, which had previously been crucial to her.

Isabella and Romuald had 2 sons: Andrew, born in 1924, and Gregory, who came into the planet in 1926. The raising of children took place in the spirit of Catholic and patriotic values, which formed the foundation of the household life of Wolikowski. A peculiarly dramatic minute in Izabella's life was 1944, erstwhile her younger boy Grzegorz died during the Warsaw Uprising. This tragedy left a lasting mark on her later life and work.

The outbreak of planet War II threw the Wolikovsky into a whirlwind of dramatic events. In 1939, Izabella, along with her insignificant sons, was in Volyn, where she was drawn into the dramatic situation of women led by the Bolsheviks to be deported to Siberia. Although many failed to avoid this fate, Isabella managed to escape the export, which was most likely due not only to chance but besides to her own determination. The next years of the war she spent in Poznań and Warsaw, where despite hard conditions she did not quit social and public activities.

Even before and during the war, Izabella was active in the activities of the National Women's Organization, which was instrumental in strengthening the influence of National Democracy. There were besides Polish Circles and Earth Circles. All these organizations aimed not only to support families of the earth and women's community, but above all to build national political awareness among women, which was part of a wider ideological program of the national camp.

War experiences like the drama of losing a son, the escape from deportation, life in the occupied country, influenced profoundly the later works of Isabella. In her writing, the themes related to morality, the sense of life, the function of household and religion in the endurance of the national community in times of crisis became increasingly prominent. At the same time, she remained faithful to her imagination of the world: traditional, conservative, based on lasting values that were to be the foundation not only for the individual but besides for the full nation.

Emigration and surviving in a abroad country

After the end of planet War II, Izabella from Lutosławskie Wolikowska, like many representatives of Polish intelligence and landowners, decided to leave her homeland. She and her household emigrated to Canada, where she lived in Edmonton, a city that was then 1 of the most crucial centres of Polish emigration. However, the change of place of residence did not mean for her to quit the value of the present or to completely break with Polish culture. Although life in a abroad country had fresh challenges, Wolikowska remained faithful to her national identity, maintaining strong links with the Polish cultural and political environment in everyday life.

In Edmonton, Izabella lived a more peaceful life than in the dramatic years of war, but until the end it remained intellectually active. Her home became a gathering place for Polish migrants, and the memory of her household and national traditions was constantly maintained there. At the same time, she cherished the memory of boy Gregory and husband Romuald, who ended his life in Canada.

Isabella died in Edmonton on October 21, 1972, leaving not only a literary accomplishment behind, but besides a lasting trace in memory of the Polish community. She was buried at Saint Albert Roman Catholic Cemetery. Her husband Romuald and her boy Andrew (Andrzej) besides rested in the same quarters, which symbolically closed the chapter of the life of the Wolokowski family, reuniting them in 1 place, even though the fates cast them far from the household Drozdov.

Literature and Publicism

The works of Izabella from Lutosławskie Wolikowska include both novels, translations and publications. From the first years of her activity, she has tried to combine literary interests with an thought message that was clear from her worldview.

Among her most crucial novels include titles specified as “Daughter”, “Zaza Marriage” and “Borowski State”. These works are dominated by themes powerfully related to the Christian strategy of values: the presence of God in everyday life, the importance of the household as a basic social cell, and the function of women in society defined by conventional roles division. Wolikowska did not hide her attachment to the conservative model: according to her, first of all, she should be a wife and mother, while her activity outside the home – whether social or political – was to be a complement, never an end in itself.

Translations occupy a peculiar place in Wolikowska's work. The texts chosen by her (as Victoriano García Martía or Jacinto Benavente's works already mentioned) were not random. They have always referred to the value of close to her own imagination of the world: patriotism, faith, loyalty to tradition. Translations were treated as a form of work for the national community, seeing in them a way to spread crucial ideas among Polish readers. In the public sphere, Izabella has collaborated with titles related to the national ideological circle, specified as “Easy from the Bridge”, “Gazeta Warszawska” or “Myśl Polska”. Her articles frequently addressed political, moral and social issues, but were always embedded within the conventional framework of conservative and national values.

It is besides impossible to overlook the release of the memories of Isabella about Roman Dmowski entitled “Roman Dmowski. Man, Pole, Friend". The first edition was released in 1961 in Chicago, and in 2007 thanks to the efforts of the Museum of Nature in Drozdów and the NORTOM Publishing House, this book was published in Poland. It is simply a valuable origin for both historians and readers curious in national ideas and Dmowski himself.

Meaning and Heritage

Izabella of Lutosławskie Wolikowska is undoubtedly an crucial figure in the context of Polish literature and socio-political thought of the first half of the 20th century. Her achievements, both literary and publicist, reflected not only individual beliefs, but besides broader national, conservative and Catholic ideas in her environment. She was an example of a female who, despite conservative views on the function of sex, was able to actively participate in public life, writing, translating and working in women's organizations. Wolikowska represented in her novels a image of the earth's world, faithful tradition and work for the national community. By showing household life, social relations and moral dilemmas, it created a "cultural agrarian landscape" steeped in national values. Her books were not only artistic, but besides educational and ideological.

Although over the years her views can be perceived as anachronistic, for contemporary researchers of social life and Polish literature Izabella Wolikowska remains an interesting example of a female related to the national stream, who, despite Dmowski's objections to women's political involvement, found a space of action for herself. Her example shows that tradition and modernity can sometimes combine in an unobvious way.

After her death in 1972, the memory of Izabella Wolikowska survived mainly in communities related to national ideology and in family-historical circles related to Drozdov. The release of memories of Roman Dmowski in Poland in 2007 helped to remind its character besides to a wider audience, although it inactive remains little known than another women of that era. Despite this, the destiny of Izabella of Lutosławskie Wolikowska shows how powerfully household tradition, perfect engagement and dramatic historical events can form the life of an individual, both in their homeland and on emigration. Her life remains a evidence to the fact that the values we cultivate can make sense even in the most hard times.

Marzena Radkowska