“I cried with such sobbing as I had once done as a child, for that letter made me a child again.”

Original: Płakałem z takiem łkaniem jak dawniej, kiedy byłem dzieckiem, bo też list ten nanowo dzieckiem mię zrobił. — Memory and correspondence collapse the distance between the adult exile and the child he once was. · Letter to his mother, 1830s (Polish)

• Childhood
• Grief
• Memory

“I have this moment when, almost in despair, I throw myself at the paper, wanting to cast handfuls of my soul upon people and transform them into myself.”

Original: a mam tę chwilę, że niby z jakąś rozpaczą rzucam się do papieru, chcąc garściami duszę moją rzucać na ludzi, przemieniać ich w siebie — Writing becomes an almost physical act of pouring the self into other people. · Letter to his mother, 28 November 1843 (Polish)

• Creation
• Expression
• Writing

“The project, conceived long ago and several times rejected as too frightening an undertaking, has finally come to pass.”

Original: Projekt ten, od dawna zrobiony i kilka razy odrzucony ode mnie jako nadto straszne przedsięwzięcie, przyszedł na koniec do skutku. — A characteristic mixture of apprehension and determination before his journey east. · Letter to his mother, 24 August 1836 (Polish)

• Action
• Adventure
• Courage