“The Fickleness of Human Affairs”: On Coincidence, as Seen in Wacałw Potocki’s Syloret
Agnieszka CZECHOWICZ
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4365-2864
Abstract
The article considers coincidence as a necessary element in the construction of the plot of an early modern romance epic (an unexpected complication, a remarkable coincidence of events) and as a factor that helps the author develop the didactic message of his work. The reflection is based on the example of Syloret, a romance by Wacław Potocki, a poem influenced by Boethius’s De consolatione philosophiae, and his idea of coincidences and varieties of luck as tools through which Divine Providence works. In his poem, Potocki shows the main protagonist’s struggle with not infrequently malevolent fortune, which turns out to be a force that tests his constancy, but also leads him towards the path of self-knowledge.
Keywords:
Wacław Potocki, romance epic, fortune, ProvidenceCZECHOWICZ, A. (2023). „Rzeczy ludzkich siewka”. O przypadku w Sylorecie Wacława Potockiego. Ethos. Kwartalnik Instytutu Jana Pawła II KUL, 36(2), 151–174. https://doi.org/10.12887/36-2023-2-142-10
Agnieszka CZECHOWICZ
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4365-2864
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4365-2864
