Radosław Rusnak

To Konstantynowa Sobieska leaving Żółkiew
The paper discusses a translation of the Roman tragedy Historia albo tragedia Oktawii
cesarzówny rzymskiej by Józef Jan Woliński, published in 1728 and finished
shortly before. Its author presents himself as a faithful servant of the Wessels’ and
dedicates his adaptation of the 1st-century praetexta Octavia to Maria Józefa Wessel,
Konstanty Sobieski’s widow. The translator adapts the Latin text, on the one hand
emphasising Nero’s ferocity and despotism, on the other employing the stereotype of
the abandoned wife. The cruel emperor is charged with all the responsibility for the
evil which consumes Rome and his relatives, while Octavia is depicted as a fragile
and passive victim of his malice. However, the translator does not disregard the protagonist’s
intimacy with her brother and nanny. Woliński underlines the moral aspect
of the drama, hinting at the eminent collapse of Nero’s strength and his violent suicidal
death, which does not feature in the original. Crossing out Octavia’s final lamentation,
the Polish translator makes her obey her nanny’s advice and stop crying. Given
Woliński’s closeness to his benefactors as well as the doleful circumstances in which
Maria Józefa Wessel found herself around the time of creating Historia albo tragedia,
it seems plausible to suggest a personal assignment of the drama, conceived as
a remedy for Wessel’s concerns when handing over her beloved property at Żółkiew
to her odious brother-in-law, Jakub Sobieski.

The paper discusses a translation of the Roman tragedy Historia albo
tragedia Oktawii cesarzówny rzymskiej (History or Tragedy of Octavia the Roman
Emperor’s Daughter) by Józef Jan Woliński, published in 1728 and completed shortly
beforehand. Its author presents himself as a faithful servant of the Wessels and dedicates
his adaptation of the fi rst-century praetexta Octavia to Maria Józefa Wessel, Konstanty
Sobieski’s widow. The translator adapts the Latin text, on the one hand emphasising
Nero’s ferocity and despotism, on the other employing the stereotype of the abandoned
wife. The cruel emperor is charged with all the responsibility for the evil which consumes
Rome and his relatives, while Octavia is depicted as a fragile and passive victim of
his malice. However, the translator does not disregard the protagonist’s intimacy with
her brother and her nurse. Woliński underlines the moral aspect of the drama, hinting
at the imminent collapse of Nero’s power and his violent death by suicide, which
does not feature in the original. By removing Octavia’s fi nal lamentation, the Polish
translator makes her follow her nurse’s advice and desist from expressing her grief.
Given Woliński’s closeness to his benefactors around the time of writing his Historia
albo tragedia, it seems plausible to suggest the drama was privately commissioned, and
conceived as a solace to Wessel’s concerns when handing her beloved estate at Żółkiew
to her odious brother-in-law, Jakub Sobieski.