Plural Form of Polish Madness. Side Notes to Mira Marcinów’s The History of Polish Madness. Vol. 1. The Study of Melancholy

Abstract

The task of the paper is two-fold. The author is reading Mira Marcinów’s book upon recognition of its importance in two debates; that on the subject of madness and its conditions, and that on Poland and its character, i.e. the specificity of Polish melancholy. The author is reading the book to reflect upon the status of melancholy in culture and its unique position. In this endeavour, author attempt to recognize the structure of the melancholic subject and its problematics. Above all, he wonder whether the melancholic has no doubts about his life. A fairly justified hypothesis would be that the melancholic sees himself as a dead rather than a living body.