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PARTI.PERFORMANCEOFROMANTICISM
Apollo,theGreekgodofmedicine,ofmusicandpoetry,ofarcheryandofproph-
ecyisareminderoftheancientunionofmedicineandpoetry2(understoodmore
broadlyasliteratureingeneral,orwhathasbeenwritten).Herepresentstheorderly,
lightsideofclassicalGreekcivilization,invividcontrasttohishalfbrotherDionysus,
whoisthepatronofwine,revelry,chaosandthedarksideofhumannature.Chopin’s
medicalhistoryisasconvolutedandmisguidingasApollo’sindentificationwith
lightandsunonly.Apartfrombeingthegodofhealing,hewasalsothegodofsud-
dendeaththroughdisease,whichcouldbedeliveredveryeffectivelybyhisarrow.
OneofthesearrowsreachedFryderykChopin.Bringingorderontothechaosofhis
illnessandthemetaphorsitcreatedduringthelasttwocenturies,isindeedserving
thesamegod.
RomanticGeniusandtheDivineMalady
Niemówludziom,żemchorował,bozrobiąbajkę.3
[Don’ttellpeopleIhavebeenillorthey
willmakeafantasticstoryoutofit.4]
Tuberculosisinlatemodernityandthroughoutthewholeofthenineteenthcenturyis
dressedinaspectacularcostumeofmetaphor,anditisencumberedbyitstrappings.
Aseveryillness,itrepresentsthenocturnalsideoflife,andintermsofFryderyk
Chopin,thisonerouscitizenshiphasbecomehisquotidianidentityandperforma-
tivepresence.However,itisnotphysicalillnessitselfthatIwanttoinquireintoin
thischapter,buttheusesoftuberculosisasafigureormetaphorandthewayitwas
uperformed”inthecaseofFryderykChopin.5Itismyaimtoinvestigatethenotion
ofplacinggeniusintherealmofthisparticularailment,asitssignificanceandposi-
tioninthenineteenthcenturysymbolicorderisdefinitelyhuge.
Followingthefamoustravesty,uChopinisnotanartist,heisanidea”,andac-
cordingtotheperformativecreationofmatterasestablishedbyErikaFisher-Lichte
inheraestheticsofperformativity,
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itisworthinvestigatinghowthenotionofillness
2
Ontheconnectionsbetweenliteratureandmedicine,vide:TheBodyandtheText:Comparative
EssaysinLiteratureandMedicine,ed.BruceClarke,WendellAycock,TexasTechUniversityPress,
Lubbock,1990.
3KorespondencjaFryderykaChopina,ed.BronisławEdwardSydow,Warszawa,1955,vol.I,p.331
(furtherreferredtoasKFC,volumenumberandpagenumberasin:KFCI331).Allprimary
sourcesarequotedintheiroriginallanguage,unlessstatedotherwise.
4
SelectedCorrespondenceofFryderykChopin,ed.BronislawEdwardSydow,trans.ArthurHedley,
Heinemann,Londonetal.,1962,p.164(furtherreferredtoasSCFCandpagenumberasin:
SCFC64).
5Vide:DorotaSobstel(Mackenzie),uChopingeniuszcierpiący.Gruźlicajakometaforaepoki”,in:
Zapisycierpienia,ed.KatarzynaStańczak-Wiślicz,Chronicon,Wrocław,2011.
6
ErikaFischer-Lichte,Estetykaperformatywności,trans.MateuszBorowski,MałgorzataSugiera,
KsięgarniaAkademicka,Kraków,2008.
