Századok – 1997

Tanulmányok - Miskolczy Ambrus: Mítoszképzés és propaganda: Jules Michelet lengyel és orosz legendája (1848–1851) V/1019

1062 MISKOLCZY AMBRUS Catholic character and social dividedness of Poland. While the Polish legend of Michelet was a result also of his dialogue with Mickiewitz, his Russian legend is characterized just by the lack of such a dialogue. Russia was for him the country of infernal tyranny based on a communist common ownership of land with a few martyrs and a suffering people unable to change its fate. Although he was on friendly terms with Herzen and the Russian emigrant pointed out his mistakes and misinterpretations to him, he did not change his opinion. Similarly, he was not influenced by Herzen's analysis of the political situation based on Hegelian logic. Therefore, the Russian emigrant did not even mention this episode in his memoirs. His relationship with Michelet remained a painful memory for him, since he accepted several pieces of criticism of his French friend. The Polish and Russian legends of Michelet indicate the mechanism of transcultural relations and the limits of the moralist and romantic view of history. His legends and their acceptance constitute an important chapter of the dialogue between East and West. Defining the alien was for him, and for many others after him, the means of self-definition.