{This is a response to a prompt from What Pegman Saw, a weekly, 150-word writing challenge based on a location in Google Maps. This week we are in Krakow, Poland, at the magnificent Julius Slowacki Theatre. I have imagined, here, a visit by a foreign dignitary, and have (perhaps tastelessly) decorated my piece with historical references.
Many of you will know John Paul II, who served in the Catholic Church in Krakow for many years, before being “promoted”, if one can say such a thing, to pope, and more recently, beyond that, into sainthood. An interesting fact about him is that his motto was “Totus Tuus” meaning “totally yours.”I thought this an ironic contrast, to the attitudes of some modern leaders.
The monastery reference has to do with the fact that the theater was built on the site of an ancient monastery of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and the square still bares its name. Such palaces of hedonism might cause even monks to curse.
The theater was built in 1893, much too late for true Baroque, so its Baroque-ish features are copied, and more correctly deemed “Eclectic.” It may remind you of other modern buildings that go heavy on the gold.
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish scientist who is credited with the concept of the heliocentric, or sun-centered universe, a concept quite unpopular and dangerous in his time.
Benoit Mandelbrot was also born in Poland but left in 1936 for France, and later for the US. There he worked for IBM and served at many prominent Universities. He was a mathematician, the”father” of fractal geometry, and among his many accomplishments, including great contributions to information science, he wrote a book about financial markets, called “The (Mis)Behavior of Markets.” Watching the Dow Jones, this week, I thought this might “bear” mentioning.
As always, all errors are my own. Thanks for the prompt and thank you for reading!}
Tadeusz’s box. Stage right. Krakow society gossiped below, eagerly awaiting an esteemed foreign dignitary.
The last time such a crowd assembled, John Paul II had come. Krakow’s own pope. And saint.
Polite society did not mention other leaders, who had come and gone.
Tadeusz loved the fanfare, regardless.
Faux-Baroque exuberance vaulted up the walls. Blood-colored velvet curtains, fringed with faith in God and man, guiltily sidled up to gold. Meanwhile, monastic curses rose, like vapors, from Holy Ghost Square.
Latter-day Copernicans, visited by dreams of unsanctioned universes, would, today, hold still their cowardly tongues. Logic’s days were numbered.
Mandelbrot was equal to this calculation. His fractals fragment up into infinity: very Baroque. While men and markets trend downwards.
Applause. Center stage, a carefully-coifed world leader. A plastic, fashion-plate wife.
Once again, the time has come, to abandon logic.
“Why come to us?” Tadeusz wondered. “Because we’d rather believe, than think?”
The name Tadeusz always reminds me of “Tadzio” in Thomas Mann’s novella (and Benjamin Britten’s opera) “Death in Venice”. But I’m fairly sure that’s not the Tadeusz you had in mind.
I did my best to read that book in German once upon a time, but sadly my comprehension was severely impaired by my not understanding all the words.:) Must give a translation a try sometime.
It’s that kind of thought that really makes work rich–the sort of pleasure you can go back to time again. I’d be lying if I said I picked up on all of your metaphor, but I did get some of that!
I hope it was more pleasure than pain!?
Absolutely!
Andrea,
Smartly put together. Love the loaded descriptions “Faux-Baroque exuberance vaulted up the walls. Blood-colored velvet curtains, fringed with faith in God and man, guiltily sidled up to gold.” So much to savor here.
That is so interesting that this location took us to the same place thematically. These are strange days indeed.
Agreed!
I didn’t mean to dismiss your comment so quickly, I was just headed out the door. 🙂 I am glad the wording appealed to you. I was trying, in my jam-packed way, to convey the connection between wealth (gold) and violence (blood red curtains), and the way previous periods of prosperity have sometimes been fueled with an optimism, a religious or scientific certainty. And these periods of prosperity have often been followed by grim periods, where the darkness, cruelty and frailty of men is more prominently on display. This was meant to be a foreshadowing of such times, yet to come.
Excellent story. I am a big fan of Czezlaw Milosz’s essays on life in wartime Poland. He was great friends with Karol Wojtyla, the one-day Pope John Paul II, and wrote several essays about their discussions. It was a heady and dangerous time. Thanks for contributing.
Thank you Josh. That sounds like fascinating reading. The longest serving pope of our lifetimes could not help but have had great influence, on shaping the world as we know it.
He served 26 years, while only St Peter and Pope Pius IX, at 34-37 and 31 years, respectively, served longer,according to wikipedia. I do recall the time when Poland was breaking free, and how influential that was, on other Eastern European countries.
Your intelligence shines through in this piece, Andrea, emotionally and intellectually. I loved reading your introduction and the linking together of so many historical facts and figures. An impressive achievement.
Thanks Kelvin. Methinks the story might be more successful if I toned down the lecture content a notch or two!?.
Hope you can endure a long reply to your comment, too!
On the intro–when I suspect something might not be generally known, i try to include relevant information, so you can digest the piece, without having to seek additional information elsewhere. I also try to add a few links, for those with interest and time on their hands, to learn more.
But I don’t want my story to bog you down, like a statute, where you need a glossary of terms to understand it at all! A story should, theoretically, stand on its own.
As for inspiration: the gold and gilt surfaces, reminded me of our current president. I remember being baffled by his state trip to Poland (why Poland?).
At the time as I recall, he had not yet visited some of our greatest allies, such as Great Britain and Germany.
Here is an old BBC article, speculating on what his actual motives might likely have been.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40497732
Of course, this story is set in Krakow, not Warsaw, and this could be any world leader.
My point is that we all ( not just Poles, no offense intended!) tend to listen to and follow the leaders we want to believe, whether that is logical or not. And every politician goes where he can benefit from a friendly audience.
Because of their hard history, including Nazi occupation and Russian threat, (these are the other leaders I mention), I imagine that this audience might be inclined, just as a break from distrust and disappointment, towards belief in such a leader. Who might just lead them, or the world, astray.
Interesting take on the prompt. Feels like a historical collage of historical figures, combined into one story. Think the notes you provided were necessary in order to appreciate it.
I get the feeling that perhaps I should be awarding college credits for reading this one! Thanks for wading trough it!
Very intelligently put together. I would never have made it through it with any semblance of understanding without your forward, so thank you for including it.. The line “monastic curses rose like vapors” is perfection….
Thank you Violet, and I do apologize for the density. Sometimes the places chosen are so rich in history, i cannot stop at just one bite!?