Pozytywizm - Epoki literackie w 5 minut - #matura #maturazpolskiego #maturanamaksa

Positivism in European Culture (Mid-19th Century)
📌 Positivism, known as Realism or Great Realism in culture, spans from the 1830s in Europe, concluding around the 1870s/1880s.
🇵🇱 In Polish culture, this period began later, after the January Uprising in 1864, ending in the early 1890s.
🏭 This era saw significant civilizational changes, including urban growth due to industrial revolution migration and the rise of new classes like the proletariat and bourgeoisie.
💡 Key inventions during this time included dynamite, the light bulb, the telephone, and the rabies vaccine.

Dominant Philosophical and Cultural Currents
🔬 Scientism asserted that natural and exact sciences are the certain source of knowledge.
🤝 Organicism viewed society as a living organism requiring cooperation for proper development.
⚖️ Utilitarianism emphasized that what benefits the largest group of society is good, linking individual well-being to the collective good.
🖼️ The dominant trend was Realism, focusing on showing what is true and authentic, starkly moving away from the fantastic imagery of the preceding Romantic era.

Literary Features and Themes of Positivism
🖋️ Literature aimed to be a "mirror of reality," observing and mimicking the world, with Realism progressing toward Naturalism (reproducing reality with the finest details, sometimes including the ugly).
💼 The main slogan of the period was "work," focusing on daily life and the concrete present, leading to prose dominating over poetry ("unpoetic times").
📢 The novel was the triumphant genre, supplemented by shorter forms like the novella and short story, perfectly realizing the tenets of realism.

Positivist Program for Poland
📚 Polish Positivists proposed a new program for the nation still under partitions, centered on maximum possibilities for development, making the literature "tendentious" (propagandistic).
🌱 "Work at the foundations" (praca u podstaw) focused on educating the poorest (peasants, workers) so they felt responsible for social life, and on educating the wealthy to recognize their role.
🔗 "Organic work" (praca organiczna), linked to organicism, prioritized the development of the entire society, often interpreted in economic terms.
♀️ The call for emancipation and equal rights for women was crucial due to the demographic loss of men following uprisings and exiles.
🤝 Assimilation of Jews was advocated to foster national and cultural unity.
📜 Legalism—adherence to existing law—was deemed essential for stable national development.

Key Literary Works and Authors
👑 **Bolesław Prus's *Lalka* (*The Doll*)** is a pivotal accounting novel, objectively presenting the positives and negatives of the post-1864 Polish program.
📜 Shorter works addressed social issues: Konopnicka's *My ó Gdański* on Jewish assimilation, or Sienkiewicz's *Janek Muzykant* on neglecting youth development.
⚔️ Sienkiewicz's Historical Trilogy (*With Fire and Sword*, *The Deluge*, *Pan Wołodyjowski*) served to "gladden the hearts" by emphasizing Polish victories over past hardships, though history was presented subjectively.
🧠 Realism also intensely explored human psychology, evidenced by Fyodor Dostoevsky's *Crime and Punishment* and Balzac's *Father Goriot*.
💰 Characteristic motifs included work, money, urban development, and social functioning, alongside themes of unhappy love and patriotism (despite the anti-uprising trend).

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Positivism advocated for Realism in culture, moving away from Romanticism's fantasy toward observing and detailing reality, sometimes bordering on Naturalism.
➡️ The core social program for partitioned Poland centered on Work at the Foundations (mass education) and Organic Work (economic development of the whole society).
➡️ **Bolesław Prus's *Lalka* stands out as the key novel analyzing Polish society through the lens of positivist ideals and critiques.
➡️ Despite the official focus on practical work, themes of uprisings** (like the January Uprising) subtly appeared in works like *Lalka* and Sienkiewicz’s *Latarnik*.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Feb 26, 2026, 18:51 UTC