Postcards from Hell: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz in the Paris of 1908

Wojciech Sztaba

Abstract

We know little about Witkacy’s stay in Paris in the spring of 1908; we do not know the letters to his father where he probably reported what he experienced there, and the correspondent letters by his father contain few traces of such reports. Traces of the stay have, however, made their way to his literary works: he recounted his impressions of his encounter with the new painting in The 622 Downfalls of Bungo, whereas The Beelzebub Sonata contains evidence of his visits to Paris cabarets, particularly to L’Enfer and Le Néant. The playwright suggests that the Hell of Acts 2 and 3 is to resemble a cabaret in Paris—and a little Budapestian—or in Rio (Salon di Gioja), but mostly Parisian, which he repeats in the play on numerous occasions, including the opening-scene stage directions where he emphasizes, importantly, the general atmosphere of demonic tackiness of such entertainment establishments. Reading contemporary reports and looking at old postcards and photographs of the cabarets’ interiors one can imagine an atmosphere Witkacy strove for in the stage setting for The Beelzebub Sonata. Knowing Witkacy’s penchant for the macabre, one can guess that he visited the Grand-Guignol Theatre and the Musée Grévin. While Witkacy stayed in Paris, the Antoine Theatre gave two afternoon performances of Ubu Roi by Jarry with Firmin Gémier, which were widely publicized. Twenty years later, Ubu Roi cropped up, perhaps as a reminiscence from Paris, in Witkacy’s letter to Edmund Wierciński.