Radosław Jakubczyk

Francuzi byli jedną z pierwszych europejskich nacji ‒ obok Brytyjczyków, Niemców i Holendrów ‒ które zaciekawiły się Islandią. Początkowo zainteresowanie to objawiało się wyłącznie podróżami na tę wyspę, w późniejszym okresie (w drugiej połowie XIX wi ku) znalazło ono również odbicie w literaturze francuskiej (w powieściach Verne’a i Lotiego), a także wpłynęło na ukazanie się na rynku wydawniczym we Francji pierwszych tłumaczeń sag islandzkich. Niniejszy artykuł koncentruje się na francuskich wyprawach na Islandię, przedsięwziętych w toku niemal dwustu lat. W centrum uwagi znajduje się wizerunek Islandii w oczach Francuzów, refleksji tej towarzyszy zaś próba ukazania ewolucji obrazu wyspy we francuskim piśmiennictwie podróżniczym od XVII do połowy XIX wieku. Omawiając poszczególne relacje z podróży, autor wskazuje na trzy główne strategie opisowe: intertekstualność, naukowy obiektywizm, subiektywizację.

ABSTRAcT

From Stereotype to Anti-colonialism: Iceland in French Travel Writing (17th — mid-19th Centuries)

Along with British, Germans and Dutch, the French were one of the first European nations to show interest in Iceland. Initially this was limited to traveling through the island, but later on (in the second half of the 19th century) the rising tide of interest in Iceland was reflected in French literature (in the novels by Jules Verne and Pierre Loti) and initiated the first translations of the Icelandic sagas into French. The present paper centers on French accounts of the voyages to Iceland from the 17th to the mid-19th centuries. The main goal is to discuss the image of Iceland and Icelanders painted by the Frenchmen and its evolution over the centuries. The author argues that there are three descriptive strategies that French travelers employ in their accounts: intertextuality, scientific objectivisation, subjectivisation.

A Matter of Honor. On Masculinity in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas

The paper deals with the concept of masculinity in selected 13th-century Icelandic family sagas (Íslendingasögur). The author argues that the then ethos of aggressive masculinity, based on such values as honor, vengeance, subordination of women, and supremacy over other masculinities, oppressively infl uenced men who wanted to meet the exorbitant demands of medieval Icelandic society in order to avoid social stigmatization and accusations of eff eminacy. The author refers to the notion of “hegemonic masculinity”, a concept proposed by Raewyn Connell in her influential book Masculinities. In the paper, the model of hegemonic masculinity, characterized by the desire to sanction patriarchy and male domination, is confronted with other types of masculinities (subordinate and marginalized masculinities). Therefore, the following issues are also discussed: male initiation and code of honor, violence against women, emotions of the saga protagonists. The author concludes that unwritten orders and prohibitions that were supposed to protect men from dishonor and loss of social position contributed to a repressive system based on heroism and violence.