Persuasive Ironies

The ostensible goal of the utopian novel is to serve as the fictional embodiment of a theoretical ideal, the dream of a perfect society brought to life. This is especially true in the age of Enlightenment, a time that seemed to particularly believe in the emancipatory power of reason and its ability to rationally organize human existence. The novel is an obvious handmaiden to the utopian project, rendering the brave new world tangible and familiar while also acting as its advocate, persuading readers of its virtues. It seems surprising, then, to find two eighteenth-century utopian novels that not only critique utopian ideals but also call into question fiction's ability to deliver utopianism's message, or indeed, any kind of lesson at all. Yet the two novels I discuss in this article, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) and Ignacy Krasicki's Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki (The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom) (1776), do exactly that. Krasicki and Swift illustrate the ultimate disjunction between the human and the abstract, a problem that is at the heart of political theory itself. The inability of the universal to meaningfully encompass the individual casts doubt on political projects of universal freedom, which must ultimately be a freedom of the individual, and of self-determination. What makes their novels of particular interest is the way in which they simultaneously illuminate the limits of fiction's powers of political pedagogy and its ability to portray those limits through its use of irony.Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki is often considered to be the first Polish novel, and a typical text of the Enlightenment. The novel tells the story of a young man, Mikołaj, and his upbringing in Sarmatian Poland. Forced to leave the country because of financial problems, he travels to France, which he must also eventually flee because of money troubles. A shipwreck lands him on the island of Nipu, which most critics read as a fairly straightforward embodiment of Enlightenment principles, in line with other European visions of utopia.1 After leaving Nipu, Mikołaj travels to the New World, and ultimately returns to Poland. Studies of the novel focus on its advocacy of Enlightenment values (though more recent criticism has begun to complicate this picture, as Teresa Kostkiewiczowa points out in a broad overview of this issue), but as I make clear here, the novel lends itself to a very different reading.2 Swift was undeniably an influence on Krasicki: in fact, the narrator of Krasicki's subsequent novel, Historia, is a character from Gulliver's Travels, an immortal Strudlbrug from Luggnag, of Gulliver's third voyage. Read alongside Gulliver's Travels, the critique of Enlightenment values in Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki becomes far more apparent. Both novels not only articulate a similar problematic at the heart of utopian thought but also reflect more specifically on the role that fiction plays in illuminating these critiques.At the center of both texts is an interrogation of the disjunct between theory and practice, between the particular and the universal. The universal has, of course, long been a problem for utopian thought, particularly for its fictional representations. The universal as a category is necessarily abstract and formal in nature: if it is to contain everyone, it cannot be too particular. But this is precisely what cripples the fictional efforts: the category becomes so broad that it loses sight of the individual. Fredric Jameson complains, for instance, that in utopian literature “the perspective is utterly anonymous. The citizens of utopia as a any any The a as It is a for this is the very problem that fiction to rendering the of utopian this to in its also the in utopian the into that is so in these sight of the individual, it is also to sight of the of human life. of that to a this in in universal in individual a of the disjunction between the human and the The of Swift's and Krasicki's texts is that they make this to their into on the problem as and the in the between and theory and disjunction between and also at the center of the of a that has particularly to utopian is an obvious for utopian the of the perfect for so and to the of a fictional society the of the utopian novel an of as for the be But the as a literature to deliver what it simultaneously must be of This is particularly the other that been a and that literature is not to be that simultaneously to make the of a novel to the of and the of their texts this and it as that their not from the problem and as if their because at very they as and of the that The narrator in Krasicki's novel, Historia, is a he not only makes a of the he but also and readers to other he into with a and their but his be on to a Gulliver's Travels and Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego Swift and Krasicki the in more problematic as an the question of the between and and what it for utopian on in Gulliver's Travels, Swift to be simultaneously of the of ability to and to its his of to the of is with Gulliver's in his is not he But be to a from the of the and must be with the and that most in other the of which and of from which and the of The to be from a in its ability to to the of a different to from the of his and as the precisely because the has not the that Gulliver's only to The is and makes it clear that to a different not on the Doświadczyńskiego przypadki a different a problematic Mikołaj, in an of that between and the of the to if he is not the to his of Mikołaj is his this to I not a not been to and not was to and and to be in with both and more Mikołaj simultaneously the of to be also that it is not for has this leaving it is a of the in these two is as or a for the of the The novel be read as a of Mikołaj from to as he the The most obvious of in the is in his the of the most of of a financial and his for money to he at the island of Nipu, he is out of this for he a shipwreck that other a of It is that the limits of abstract for his he cannot the of the very that him in the first do do on Nipu, utterly I of and I while I to the way of life. I begun to the of the But that as was not to make in it the world that I not I to leave the island in the I from the I was that this and the for the and Mikołaj seems to with their on an abstract and a world with the of he is what he as an the island a of as he a of a he that it was and a for that to his the is far more abstract only so human is far more eventually of his and for but the of his is not of the he been to in leaving he is and to in the which to a from and the it the of of to with this he they their he his into a lesson abstract it is clear that it is the that has his doubt on the power of literature to in that with that the problem is not literature and powers it but human Mikołaj is a for human he to his and must be out of This is most clear in his to his with the him to they a and he that he his for their of their he is on the of they the his in more and to is with and so the critique of of human I to the political of this of the text but for the its is to illustrate to any of he ultimately that the not this to into a or to an of his he in the New and a him Mikołaj that a in a The of the is not on the particularly because the a on the which is the only Mikołaj to be of it the he that he is to from a at first a the into novel itself in a to its readers at the time that it to illustrate the of abstract Krasicki that cannot a in his he seems to if often it ultimately his The novel to its in a not only abstract but also through the cannot be to in the for instance, he be through fiction to a new The power of a is at and is on the to which the with Mikołaj and his the Mikołaj is also a in the narrator is for his and inability to the novel must contain long of other to the on the other the novel simultaneously the to with the and read him This is precisely the of more the problem at the heart of it has two of and they at with to a problem with the utopian the of human The utopian dream is the ability of to a rationally but as the of the it is not to to do what is for this is precisely what utopian fiction to and must for the citizens of utopia must be to the on which it is What then, to make of a utopian novel that the of abstract the of the to the in persuading to their of to a a cannot be that Mikołaj was not from but of his and for The problem in this is not only to to a utopian world but also to to they Krasicki this is a for human is Swift of human the island of in the third that is for the this be read as specifically to this a this it to the of a rationally and their to the I it is the most of in the and they in the and and to do they they long to the and the of the which they not to do particular from the and this is not to be because the of it is to their to from the to leave “the most of in the for a of from this that “the of not any or and that they more be cannot but that is with a similar “the I of the as as of at with and in a if I the lesson of I was to it is for a utopian question of to is that utopian a perfect world to in perfect and as these texts make in this This problem is the in Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki in as to the of the of in not find of in but must a in those to and be for find and a to the of these also of from his and into a to the of his and most of his time to with his But this the is not a to it is also an human as and the of life. A utopian society is that “the of in to a of that is is that in his the a between and with and at a as to the that be to Gulliver's The is that and a different of from to a that it is not that to in the of Swift's it is an of a different he is not a This to be a of to utopian but in fact, it a different is not exactly because is not a that he cannot in their it is because he an in the of too to be a he is not a and not the to be a true of as becomes a The that it is to reason or for him to in a as a and that it is for him to be the for his powers of reason him to organize the in he is to a to a this is an of a in the utopian its inability to a rationally and be third of this problem in both Krasicki's and Swift's The of the utopian world makes any of or What these is the way in which that not to the utopian becomes an embodiment of This is the of in the society in Gulliver's third voyage. The that which they It is that and points to the in the utopian through the character of as a of to and with of these he and his to A of the and a its for the of this is on the of is clear in at of a European be those that and his with The he to the The of the and the way in which it is is the to the to any utopian its inability to in any is not only that but more is his to the is in his to other the problematic of and utopian literature becomes for while it is obvious that Mikołaj from his because they him to and him to their way of it is also obvious that the they the way of in way from with Mikołaj a of to find out as as he the European way of life. way of he with his the of Gulliver's is also to because he is to a with of seems more on the of these to as This on the of to the and of the in a more as it that to and from is a to their way of life. this that be or and if they what it do to and if what from other a with he that that he that this to the of as for is more to the human is This is particularly for it is an that not must be in to be out for a this is its is an political to this as that is the of the a cannot The too and not only in of also society of a do a the the if a has to the not it clear that a utopian society on the of human in of a existence. It and to its and with different of to question these and is a to the is in the society of the on Swift out in his to the role of Gulliver's he Gulliver's him a he seems to his and This that he is not to What is he ultimately to the and is a of in his The he on the utopian of as it that a to a of this is clear to the of the other a the of the to that is and indeed, as This be in in their to that is what they from the or of the This is not in but in of the of the and The of the as those of reason is reason that it is as other and to the of the to the to an that he a of seems to his of and to his The of the is not a of but a the of a be but only or because reason his to be a and Gulliver's he the more for their he a for its or a for his the of the they acting out the of this the utopian is to its the ideals of the as reason Swift makes their society the of The of universal a from any particular or other the of society is a universal It is not only a rationally world but also that is the in this its Swift casts doubt on the utopian dream at has Swift that any of is in a particular time and and is in of Gulliver's Travels is not to reason itself. the in this is not so the is not for a The is more it an so as it a that it cannot a for and that cannot be Swift simultaneously the of to into its The of is not or as a Swift the of this as he its his which to for in to of other at a what is of and utterly the and that be from Gulliver's is true of Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego Krasicki what be that Mikołaj to he articulate a critique of it as a fact, to the very Mikołaj to it as but any of has that from is his that utopia makes but while that the novel the of an in the is of any of this in novels that man, and if they be and at a of and the of a as they that the out a that is of a of that which cannot be or problem with utopian of is their to out an that The these two novels make is that theory and the The individual cannot be the the for freedom the critique is not only in the of these texts but is also The of their of the very of that they is not a different way of a It its A utopian is on and It is to which is in this in the as but in the for it is a of the that its to a but its more the of the of a a kind of in the of to the its it that is an ultimate to the that it that cannot be But while this kind of be for an individual a it cannot as the for this lesson to a also Mikołaj returns from his travels with and an to it to the that Poland. to he travels to and a in but with his is his do not in but this not make at or the human has his to was not in with so I to to returns to his and as as to in with the he has to This is a in the an the is as the travels to be for Yet the novel with an of on a has on Mikołaj, but they of an individual, to his on and political he returns to his to out his this as a utopian ideals with the is not the of utopian but a they in the and that this the utopian that the text makes but that this is the in a to for the of the The that that is of the to a for is not a but in an a it to readers I that the of the at the of the novel seems the of the text is a to Krasicki's and a of the of of universal an on and that it is precisely those the of the of abstract universal to what he must from the particular and be to and that to the individual, as a to of their an becomes from itself and to the that the Enlightenment to their to self-determination. The with the of a that it which a that the question of what for the of their particular through the in this individual an of the particular the The of Enlightenment, is that its is in a to only of universal abstract is to and particular The of the is as the Enlightenment universal and but of is to be into the of an that be as This is precisely what is in Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Krasicki's Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego in different from and Krasicki's to the utopian is into that these not citizens of France, or two with the most and the most of of and Poland. Swift was was a and the a particularly of that of the of most of their a of the was the of a of and on the the of the of of the and of and Krasicki was an to political a of the a in the of Swift was a which Sarmatian and for The an role in the of to a Polish of and into and and to the Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki was the its first It of Polish to the and the of political far more and and of and the to the two in the the the other these novels both and in the of Enlightenment they so is more obvious in the the of on but it is also in the that both and in of the time as of is a long of from the perspective of of the to on the an and in his in and a of this makes of an to the that is more of a and the of these the of any of a and the of Swift the of the call the is it makes the in the and and from a an but and also on the of the country as a of to they more they do of that it is a country to the of of their that it for if this island into the of not in was a a for as or to a of as a has different from makes has been as the between the of the and the of the seemed to the of the as of and for and at the of Swift and Krasicki to the in the dream of fact, they both between two in Swift in and Krasicki in of the first to the to in the of both is not to that the is of the The is often in of both and it in an on be considered and that at in at the of the that was a European of its and because its was that in he this that in the of a European a that was to the of that not be as to that it not be as the if a and its on the in the of the if and the is the was an of The it in the or been was not that of and but of and of its Both of and in with Enlightenment but their to those was also their of political a very particular of this particularly in in the of in Polish and has been to in its of the of a as in as has that this a that the of from the and the of serve as a has specifically the in which novels in with that these both and the of the and these the of as both and Krasicki and Swift in this a clear of for while also its their abstract of utopian both novels contain more on their political his to on the and the from his in a in which Swift's Gulliver's Swift to make of two on the the he is to the and they to in the of of for that he they in a or to a of their for the other he a to the he has in his other in that true in a those which I do not to any of and or or out in or I they of or Swift the the and the that This is the most of the critique of that is is a more that is of the text is that at the be read as the a of that as the most of and those of his kind as to the more with a that his and his to a that he their in his they to the The of a of that it is the his of his and be as the of is the of the from the utopian center because of his he at the as Gulliver's critique of in the it is this that as the more Swift not use Gulliver's to articulate the to read to the the to read in a is also not if him the of the critique is other as in Krasicki's the is to both with the and a from the universal reason in Swift is a it has political that clear if on the third of the the to a this has been of the The of the island a of with the in their to the world in their with The of this is far more it is a political of the focus to be a of the of the to more political The of the the of the island is also an center that from the The political is here, the of the of a of the which Swift also in The What is at the of this is the of the their of not for to the the the call the he is to The of the a was a that if the island so the as not to be to the citizens to it to the and his and the The is its been obvious to Swift's The use of is more familiar it in its more typical role of the to what be if travels in the the the in an the of in and that this is a of political to or and with a very in but of in that Gulliver's is considered a kind of on to the a of his This is a clear to of Swift's Nicholas the way that and into eighteenth-century that often the character of the was to the of and it was not this also the to both because they to be considered of the and because to their This to Swift's more political in which he the of and that is of its that as a of is the of in with to make it of the This is not a critique of the of reason so as its and those to theory sight of the tangible it was to of this which the of makes this of theory more read as political what to be its becomes a critique of the of the and to from the and to into The is so that its its It is a on political from that of the most in the text is “the that has been not to political but to of with to is for to to the human its The more for the of human its power it into The of the its political but they what to be a fiction of a island theory to be as an of itself. critics the third it two it the for the and the on of the for of their as their it these abstract in a world to readers that the subsequent of more to their they first of Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki a of and its on Polish in the of as has Krasicki the and of Polish its of and and and But if the of the novel is a of Polish Sarmatian society as it then, the be read as a of what it itself to What as the to their is a clear of Polish and the of of utopian literature often of the for this with the in Polish is a use of The more on to be in the that in utopian New World, Mikołaj as a to in the of particularly in the the of the the of the and so he a and to the is that it must been his from or not this is the he it is clear that the the of society the of the Krasicki and utopian the not to a their is The critique is with of and its of The New World, an with the is a of the for the perfect society is a for its his critique of and the political After his in the New World, Mikołaj, is to question his the he the novel, seems on the of his and the as and as the that the perfect been to be This at the of Mikołaj also the ultimate the and the as and as is not it is the itself that must be more political that these not in abstract a that for both Swift and in the fictional of these their novels not be to the of their it is that those their in literature is to be an embodiment of a that also as a to the be to into practice, and fiction is a of do precisely the they that it is in their embodiment that the of utopian society as the abstract, has an to or ultimately the to for the of utopian society to the of human and the of it is through fiction that the true of the utopian literature to a to make the utopian in a different through the of literature the in this the use of literature to that the text that cannot these novels do to their precisely through their of to The these on a of and the of straightforward for political novels simultaneously the that fiction's to and illustrate fiction's to use to those It is precisely because these from the of in that been the of universal that they to the in the of the Enlightenment. novels illuminate these the between center and and

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