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16
StefanZabierowski
AustrianpartitionofPolandin1874inordertotakeupamaritimecareerinFrance.
Letusexamineeachofthesequestionsinturn.
Therecanhardlybeanydoubtthat,afterlivinginverydifficultconditionsduring
hisperiodofCexile’inRussiaandafterthedistressingexperienceoflosingbothofhis
parents,KonradKorzeniowskimusthavesufferedadeclineinhisphysicalandmen-
talhealth.Thatthiswassoisshownbythefamily’scorrespondence.Whilestillin
exileinCzernihów,Apollomentionedhisson’sbadhealthinalettertoKazimierz
WładysławWójcicki:
PoorKonradekisillandreceivingtreatmentathisuncle’scountryhouse;astomyself,
withoutexaggeration,IdoubtifIhavespokenathousandwordsinthelasttwoyears.33
InaletterwrittentoKazimierzKaszewskiattheendofthesamemonthweread:
I’mlonely.MypoorlittleKonrad’sbeenillforfivemonths.Rightnowhe’swithhisgranny
inKiev,wherehe’sbeingtreated.Don’teventryandputyourselfinmyplace,becauseit’stoo
upsetting:afatherwhoisn’tallowedtonursehisownsickchild.34
Twoyearslater,nowwritingtoKaszewskifromtheAustrianpartition,Apollo
reports:
Mylittleonesuffersfromanewonsetofhisoldillnesstypicalofchildren:urinarysand
formsinhisbladder,causingconstantcrampsinthebelly.Insuchastateofhealthitisdifficult
tomakehimdohislessons,andyetheisalreadyelevenyearsoldandforthelasttwoyearshas
hardlystudiedatall.35
Conrad’scousinTekla(zSyroczyńskich)Wojakowskarecalledthatin1873,dur-
inghissecondstayinLwów,hesufferedfrom:
[ł]nervousattacksandverysevereheadachescausedbymigraine.Thedoctorsdeclared
thatastayattheseasidemighthelphimrecover.36
Itis,ofcourse,difficulttocomeupwithafirmmedicaldiagnosisonthebasisof
suchfragmentarysecond-handinformation.Allwecandoisspeculate.Zdzisław
NajderisinclinedtothinkthattheyoungKonrad’ssymptomsmighthavebeenpsy-
chosomatic:
WhatwasthecauseofKonrad’spersistentillhealth?Apollo’smentionofkidneytroublein
oneofhislaterlettersissomewhatvague.Andfromseveralindependentsourceswelearnthat
epilepticattackswereamongtheboy’ssymptoms.Wedonotknowwhenthefirstoneoccurred
and,notpossessingdetailedmedicaldiagnosis,wemayonlyassumethathisepilepsywaspsy-
33A.KorzeniowskitoK.W.Wójcicki,2nd/14thDecember1866.[In:]ConradunderFamilialEyes,
ed.cit.,p.109.
34A.KorzeniowskitoK.Kaszewski,31stDecember1866.[In:]PolskiezapleczeJosephaConrada-
Korzeniowskiego,ed.cit.,vol.1,p.181.
35
A.KorzeniowskitoK.Kaszewski,24thJune1868.[In:]ConradunderFamilialEyes,ed.cit.,
p.119.
36StefanCzosnowski.“Conradiana”.[In:]WspomnieniaistudiaoConradzie.Ed.BarbaraKocówna.
Warszawa:PaństwowyInstytutWydawniczy,1963,p.88.
