Cross Roads Romanticism, or Inter Esse

Inter esse refers to the elusive “third” element that defines Romanticism. This book explores contrasting views of Romanticism through case studies, focusing on themes like inspiration, virtuosity, femininity, and reactions to disenchantment with the Enlightenment, thus creating a dynamic interplay of ideas and tensions. The eponymous inter esse means the elusive “third” position of that which lies between, that which escapes unambiguous classification and constitutes the essence of Romanticism. The book provides a constellation of texts, a clash of case studies that provide contrasting views of Romanticism, shifting between inspiration and virtuosity (Hugo and Mickiewicz), feminine poetry and the fantasy of femininity (Desbordes-Valmore and Z˙michowska; de Nerval and Krasin´ski), along with optimistic versus pessimistic—even nihilistic—reactions to disenchantment with the Enlightenment (Novalis, Krasin´ski, Malczewski, Macha, Bonaventura, Buchner, Goszczyn´ski). ‘Siwiec’s comparative analysis … juxtaposes the familiar with the foreign, taking Polish and foreign-language writers under critical literary scrutiny. As a result, we receive a study that is not only exceptionally insightful, original, and engaging for the reader from the very beginning but also composed almost mathematically, striking with its transparent order.’– Jerzy Jarniewicz, University of Lodz