Kaaba versus ringtheater – the Holy Cross Church – Warsaw’s pogrom: two worlds and three tragedies in Modlitwa (1882) by Cyprian Norwid

The article focuses on Modlitwa [Prayer], a short prose piece written by Cyprian Norwid towards the end of his life. The phrase “pod wrażeniem Teatru wiedeńskiego” [“under the impression of the Viennese theatre”] is read here as an indication that, despite the Arab setting, the plot and other elements of this piece draw on three tragic events directly preceding its composition in January 1882: the fire at the Ringtheater on 8 December 1881 and two events in Warsaw: the panic in the Holy Cross Church during Christmas Mass on 25 December, and the three-day-long pogrom of the Jewish community on 25–27 December. Uncovering these contexts, as suggested by Norwid, makes it possible to interpret Modlitwa as a parable which, by criticizing secularization, shows the way towards God and the fullness of prayer.