Abstract
This chapter analyses the relationships between European protagonists and the plants of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in Polish adventure novels for young adults by Stanisław Majchrowski (The Mysteries of the Island of Aotea, 1963), Mieczysław Smolarski (The Mysteries of the Southern Islands, 1959), and Alfred Szklarski (Tomek in the Land of Kangaroos, 1957). The term “green strangeness” refers to the depiction of plants by Polish writers who had never visited Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. The worlds they describe, located far from Europe, introduce young readers to the notions of “strangeness” and “freedom” conceptualised through the human-plant relationship. This chapter draws on plant studies, ecological realism (Anna Barcz) to examine the intersection of adventure novels, colonialism, and botany in narratives about young Poles who are fascinated by the “exotic” natural environment and the Indigenous people of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Notes
- 1.
Among the books on broadly understood ecological issues in Polish culture, the following are worth mentioning: J. Tabaszewska, One nature or alternative natures? On the understanding and images of nature in Polish poetry, Krakow 2010; Z. Budrewicz, Lessons of the Polish landscape. Interwar travel prose for young people, Krakow 2013; Man in relation to animals, plants, and machines in culture, vol. 1–2, J. Tymieniecka-Suchanek (Ed.), Katowice 2014; J. Fiedorczuk, A Cyborg in the Garden. An Introduction to Eco-criticism, Gdańsk 2015; A. Filipowicz, (Re-)Animalisations: Poetic Paths to Post-Anthropocentrism, Gdańsk 2017.
- 2.
Kauri tree has a crucial meaning in Māori philosophy: “According to Māori philosophy and understanding of the spiritual world, cosmos, and the natural world, all trees come from the spiritual world and over time are gifted by spiritual ancestors to the natural, material worlds and humanity. The Kauri tree is among the most ancient in our part of the Universe. … The Kauri is a child of Tāne, Rangi, and Papa, and ultimately of Io Matua Kore. From its conception it receives its own mauri, or life-force, from Io Matua Kore who inspired its name, Kauri. In Māori metaphysics, the name is closely connected with the very being of things of creation” (Hēnare 2017, 132–133).
- 3.
Apart from writing works for children and teenagers, Majchrowski was a translator from English, French, and German. His use of the name of a faun from Scottish mythology, the Glastig, in his novel related to the Māori culture, can be explained by educational intentions. Although the main character is a Pole, he has already grown into a different Scottish culture, and so in meeting with New Zealand nature he uses primarily the cultural signs related to Scotland, and not Poland, which belongs to the Slavic countries.
- 4.
“His [Linneaus] mission in life was to revolutionize natural history by deciphering the divine order of creation. He was convinced that God had left clues in his work that the human mind could comprehend.” (Bowler 2017, 131).
- 5.
The first partition of Poland (1772) was the result of a secret agreement between the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy. Owing to the chaos that appeared in Poland after the unsuccessful attempt to kidnap the Polish king Stanisław II August by his political opponents, the three powers agreed and announced to other European countries the need to restore order in Poland. One of the consequences was the seizure of part of the territory of Poland (Cegielski, Kądziela 1990).
- 6.
This term (Polish—“skrub”) is used by A. Szklarski in his novel. The more suitable term would be “bush.”
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Wróblewski, M. (2023). In Quest of “Green Strangeness” and Freedom: Polish Perspectives on Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Plants in Texts for Young Adult Readers. In: Duckworth, M., Herb, A. (eds) Storying Plants in Australian Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Critical Approaches to Children's Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39888-9_10
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