If you thought that Henryk Sienkiewicz led a peaceful life, you are wrong! Although he himself could not consummate his own marriage during his honeymoon, his confidences of love conquests can be embarrassing even today.
The writer was a widower, and his family had been making matrimonial projects for a long time. It was suspected that if he remarried, he would probably end up traveling and spending more time with the children. His surname was associated with his cousin, Aleksandra Lelewel, it was even said that the heroine of the Deluge owed her name to her. Of course, it was not true, because Sienkiewicz began to write the novel while his beloved wife was still alive. The rumors, however, continued. It was said that he was in love with a certain Basia Mańkowska from Wielkopolska, as evidenced by the name of Wołodyjowski's wife. The writer's other cousins were also mentioned as potential candidates for a wife, which was somewhat truthful. In mid-May 1888, while staying with relatives in Guzów, Sienkiewicz suddenly proposed to his cousin, Maria Babska. The most surprised was Jadwiga Janczewska, who soon did a lot to "knock this girl out of his head".
The article is an excerpt from the book Nobel Prize winners scandalists, which was recently published on the market by the Harde Publishing House.
Maria was 24 and Sienkiewicz was 41. The writer claimed that he had never thought of her as a woman before and that she had always been just a niece and a "nice child" to him. It was also not a feeling of love for his deceased wife, and in a letter to his sister-in-law he explained his decision quite twistically:I figured there are no good reasons why I shouldn't give what's left of me to a girl who loves me, who wants it dearly, and who is ready to accept as much as I can.
Janczewska, however, persisted, believing that she was not the right partner for him, and finally forced Sienkiewicz to break up with Babska. The writer humbly wrote a letter to his fiancée from Vienna, but did not dare to confess the whole truth. He told Maria that he was suffering from "brain anemia" (!), doctors forbade him to write and read, so he cannot bind himself by marriage and destroy the life of another person . Babska replied immediately, wishing him to recover and expressing the hope that in the future they would stand on the wedding carpet. Soon, however, she understood the writer's intentions and sent another letter. She has stated that she has never actually loved him and agrees with his decision. Sienkiewicz meekly informed Janczewska about everything, but his sister-in-law decided that he could not be trusted. She even sent her husband to Vienna, who tried to persuade the writer to travel together to the United States. Ultimately, Sienkiewicz did not go, but did not return to the matter of marriage with his niece. Back then, no one thought that Maria Babska's time was yet to come ...
During the carnival of 1889, beautiful Adolfina Czarnowska appeared in Sienkiewicz's life. She was the niece of one of the publishers of "Word", Lucjan Wrotnowski, and the writer liked her very much. He called her "Cyganeczka", favored her among the women around him. However, he came to the conclusion that he was not ready for change yet. He did not want to make a much younger girl unhappy, and he made the final decision on the train to Vienna. Then he could easily analyze all the pros and cons of this marriage.
On the way there is time to look into oneself - he admitted in a letter to Jadwiga Janczewska - it has never been presented so clearly that I prefer my poverty, my loneliness, my sorrows and I will always prefer them to a whole army of gypsies. It was sad to think about it and it squealed a little in the soul, but for what it seems to be hiding - it has to be like that.
It did not mean that he did not pay attention to beautiful women, although his taste may be astonishing today.
The article is an excerpt from the book Nobel Prize winners scandalists, which was recently published on the market by the Harde Publishing House.
In October of the same year, when he was going to Vienna again, he met a certain Miss O. She made such an impression on him that several days later he confided in a letter to one of his friends:(...) Miss O. is so pretty and her hands are so overgrown that I banded all the way to Wrocław, not taking out the hours of rest and eating. At the border it was suspected that
I am hiding some contraband (...).
Bandaging meant a long-lasting and strong erection in the Warsaw dialect, so it is not surprising that the customs officers suspected that the writer was hiding something in his pants. Anyway, a bit further in the same letter he proudly wrote that he felt as if he had his own barbell ...