Born: June 20, 1793 in Surochow (Austrian partition of Poland; presently Ukraine)
Died: July 15, 1876, Lwow, Austrian partition of Poland (presently Lviv, Ukraine)
Early days. His father, Jacek, was a landowner. Mother: Marianna. In 1797 his parents moved to Benkowa Wisznia. He was educated at home. In 1806 their house burnt down and his mother perished in the fire. The family moved then to Lwow. He joined the Polish army of the Duchy of Warsaw at age 16 and saw action in the Napoleonic wars, including the Moscow campaign for which he received the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari. His memoir Topsy Turvy Talk recounts his military experiences during Bonaparte's last campaign when he served on marshal Berthier's staff. While in France in 1814, he took an active interest in French drama. After leaving the army he settled on his estate and began to write.
Literary career and personal matters. In 1815 Fredro returned to Benkowa Wisznia and administered family’s estate. At the same time he became a member of the Freemasonry. Fredro made his literary debut in 1817, but he was not interested in the problems of Romanticism. He wrote social comedies about the lifestyle of the Polish nobility and is known for his skill in characterization and plot, as well as the flexibility of his language. In 1818 he wrote his first important comedy, Pan Geldhab. In 1828, after his father’s death, he inherited the family’s estate. At that time, after 11 years of courtship, he married Zofia Skarbkowa nee Jablonowska who divorced Count Stanislaw Skarbek future benefactor of Lwow’s theater where Fredro was showing his comedies. They had a son Jan Aleksander and daughter Zofia. Zofia Fredro married Count Szeptycki. Their son, Andriy Sheptytsky became the Metropolitan, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. In 1832 two Polish insurgents from Wielkopolska (a part of Prussian partition) found a safe haven on Fredros’ estate. In 1873 he became a member of Academy of Learning. In addition to social comedies his work also features humor typical of folk theatre from the period, or farce. Two of Fredro's tales, Małpa w kąpieli and Paweł and Gaweł, are children's stories. His best known comedy, 1834 The Revenge (Zemsta), has been twice adapted for the screen in Poland: in 1957 and in 2002 (with Polanski in the main role). Other better known comedies are: Pan Jowialski, 1832; Śluby panieńskie, czyli magnetyzm serca, 1833; Dożywocie, 1835; Damy i Huzary; Mąż i żona , 1821; Wielki człowiek do małych interesów; Zapiski starucha; Damy i Huzary; Dożywocie . Fredro also authored several pornographic poems available (in Polish) on the Internet.
This article uses, among others, material from the Wikipedia article "Aleksander Fredro" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. :
Wikipedia (Polish version)
Wikipedia (English version)
See also:
Virtual Library of Polish Literature (Prof.Anna Kubale) Here also a full text (in Polish) of "Zemsta" and "Pan Jowialski"
Nasza Polonia (in Polish)
There is a book "The Major Comedies of Alexander Fredro", translated by Harold B. Segel, Princeton University Press, 1969.
It includes: Husband and wife (Maz i zona); –Ladies and hussars (Damy i huzary); –Maidens’ Vows, or The magnetism of the heart (Sluby panienskie, czyli magnetyzm serca); The vengeance (Zemsta);– The life annuity (Dozywocie).
A newer translation of The vengeance (Zemsta), Vows, or the magnetism of the heart (Sluby panienskie) and Ladies and hussars (Dozywocie): Absolute Classics, Bath, England, 1993.
Return to home page:
Prominent Poles
