Henryk Sienkiewicz’s first wife was Maria Szetkiewiczówna, who died of tuberculosis a few years after their wedding. The writer took this very hard. At that time, he had already enjoyed the success of the “Trilogy” and was just before the publication of the novel “Without Dogma”. Although many women tried to win his favor, he showed no interest. Everything changed when he met Maria Romanowska, the adopted daughter of the wealthy Konstanty Wołodkowicz and his wife, Helena née Drzewiecka. It was she who initiated the first meeting, and all the subsequent ones, with her pupil.
He became interested in her because of the dowry. Then Marynuszka stole Sienkiewicz’s heart
When Wołodkowiczowa found out that Sienkiewicz was in Krakow, she decided to pay him a visit. During the meeting, she praised his work, mentioning the girl he was marrying off. She arrived at the next meeting accompanied by Maria. – Terribly passionate, enthusiastic, exalted – he said about them at the beginning. He did not hide the fact that he did not like both of them. The reluctance was also supported by the fact that the woman, 27 years his junior, did not like his first children. However, the writer’s friends did not see any reason for concern and argued that what mattered was the dowry, and she was supposed to have a sizable one.
It didn’t take long for Sienkiewicz to convince himself of this vision. Some time later, he visited the Wołodkowicz family in their villa in Odessa and asked for Marynuszka’s hand in marriage, as he used to call her. – I will write a work for you that will surprise the whole world – he promised her then, referring to “The Połaniecki Family”, the heroine of which was actually modeled on his fiancée. Already in February 1883, news spread about Sienkiewicz’s wedding with Maria, which was initially planned for June. However, seeing the behavior of his future mother-in-law, who constantly interfered in their affairs, he had a bad feeling.
Sometimes it seems to me that everything will go to hell
– he wrote in one of his letters. Maria’s father supported him in opposing Wołodkowiczowa. Once, in a fit of anger, he even advised him to “spit on it all”. The writer could not and did not want to do this, because by then he was already madly in love with his fiancée. He wrote her passionate letters, spinning visions of a life together, but each of his messages remained unanswered. Until he received a letter from Helena, who unexpectedly… broke off their engagement.
Sienkiewicz had conflicts with his future mother-in-law. He blamed her for the breakdown of his marriage with Maria Romanowska
Fearing a scandal, when emotions subsided, they managed to find an agreement and set a date for the ceremony in August. Later, they moved it to November 11, of course because of Helena’s dissatisfaction. Finally, the wedding took place on the appointed date in the private chapel of Cardinal Dunajewski in Krakow. On their honeymoon, the newlyweds went to the resort of Nervi near Genoa, but they were not allowed to enjoy peace for long. Wołodkowiczowa quickly joined them. She began to incite Maria against her husband and eventually advised her to leave him, because this was the only way to free herself from her duties as a wife. She herself spread the rumor that the writer had no control over his emotions and was a brute. In this way, after only 6 weeks of marriage, Marynuszka ran away, leaving Sienkiewicz in despair.
I had to deal with passivity, with a dry heart and unconscious egoism on the one hand, and with a nervous, crazy and perverse head on the other.
– he later summed up this stage of his life, adding that his wife was prejudiced against him from the beginning, which he owed to the influence of his mother-in-law, and he felt as if he was “marrying the enemy”. If you feel like it, vote in our poll below.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
