“In the Desert and the Wilderness” a thing of the past? These parts have aged really badly

Let us emphasize right from the beginning: this is not about condemning Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novels. It is also obvious that today’s sensitivity is different than that of 1910-1911, when “In Desert and Wilderness” was written. But when reading this work today, it is easy to notice that some of its fragments arouse at least surprise, if not embarrassment. So, to put it simply, they have aged badly.

Mea, however, felt a bit disappointed, because in her naivety she understood that after baptism her skin would immediately whiten, and she was greatly surprised to find that it remained as black as before. However, Nel consoled her completely by assuring her that she now had a white soul.

The discussion around “In Desert and Wilderness” reignited after the Ministry of Education proposed changes to the core curriculum. The ministry proposes removing the novel in its entirety from the reading list and leaving only fragments there.

The cruel Gebhr would not dare to raise a hand against her now. Perhaps the extraordinary beauty of the girl and the fact that there was something like a flower and a bird in her, a charm that even the wild and undeveloped souls of Arabs could not resist, contributed to this.

‘In the desert and in the wilderness’ Public domain

This was enough for the fire of arguments from the supporters and critics of the work to flare up again. Former Minister of Education Przemysław Czarnek talks about “cutting off Poles from Polishness”, and Paweł Lisiecki encourages parents to read Sienkiewicz to their children themselves, because in his opinion “Nowacka’s Ministry school” will make students “semi-illiterate”. In turn, Left MP Maciej Gdula has been pointing out for years that “from reading ‘In Desert and Wilderness’ it follows that white rule is necessary, because without it, black people are unable to even come close to humanity.” And the heroes of the novel – Staś and Nel – “.

There are honest souls among blacks, although you cannot count on their gratitude at all: they are children who forget about what happened yesterday.

We asked Ryszard Koziołek, habilitated professor, author of the book “Cia³ Sienkiewicza. Studies on gender and violence” awarded with the Gdynia Literary Award, and a former member of the jury of the Nike Literary Award, to comment. In his opinion, the book should remain in school at the primary education level, but it should be discussed in a different context than before.

Let them now watch this great sorcerer hanging on the trunk of an elephant and shouting “Aka!” to arouse the white lord’s pity. Where is his power? Where is his magic?

According to the professor, cutting out the novel entirely from the reading canon is a mistake. – Yes, this novel is racist in places, it privileges Europeans, it does not hide the fact that from Sienkiewicz’s perspective the white race is privileged, better, more civilized. There is no doubt about it. But this is precisely why it has value from an educational point of view, because it allows students to develop a critical perspective – he said in an interview with Gazeta.pl.

And at the memory of what happened to him, at the thought of those treacherous and cruel people who, after snatching the gun from him, punched and kicked him, his heart trembled and his fierceness grew. He felt not only defeated, but also humiliated by them in his white man’s pride.