Wladislaw is the protagonist of Menie Muriel Dowie's Wladislaw’s Advent, a story published in the fourth volume of The Yellow Book.

The story follows the struggles of a Polish immigrant living in Paris. He has aspirations of becoming an artist, although he is poor and isolated by his fellow French peers. It is likely that Wladislaw is part of the cohort of immigrants which fled to France following the November Uprising of 1830. This is because he sings Chopin’s “The Dirge of Poland” (Dowie 104), a song created after the tragic event. He also gets beaten by a Russian classmate (103) – Poland’s enemy during the uprising.

The curiosity which surrounds this text, is Dowie’s choice of presenting a meager European immigrant as a pure and ethereal Jesus incarnate. In her article, Wanda Krajewska reveals Dowie’s true intentions behind presenting her protagonist in such way. Dowie views Wladislaw’s Advent as a symbol of her times, where the meeting of crude animalistic people with a pure person induces fear and the desire to conquer (307). Dowie’s statement reveals the cold nature of English people during her times – a nature which prevented them from being accepting of “others,” and instead likely led to the formulation of prejudiced beliefs.

                                                        Menie Muriel Dowie: Feminist, traveler and ... hypocrite?

Born in Liverpool in 1867, Dowie was a critically acclaimed female writer during her time (Adams 313-314). Her works mainly explored avant-garde opinions of femininity and sexuality. However, she was also known for her independent adventures to foreign countries. Poland was one of them.

Dowie traveled alone to the Carpathians, where she spent several weeks acquainting herself with Polish customs and traditions. She acquired a certain empathy for the people, praising their beautiful language, art and preservation of culture. In fact, she based Wladislaw off of a real painter whom she met during her travels.

                                                                                        But,

Hidden among Dowie’s praise are certain ideas which may discredit her positive stance towards Poles. When scrutinized, her word choice and commentary reveal that Dowie herself may have been the victim of what she called a “British crudeness.”

One interesting point is how the same person is described by British writer Dowie, and Polish writer Krajewska. Dowie uses the phrase “peasant servant” (Dowie 768) to describe the Pole who helped her during her travels. Krajewska calls him “goralski przewodnik” (Krajewska 303) – the literal English translation: “highlander guide.” An Anglophone reader would simply skim over the phrase, not deeming it offensive or inappropriate. It is the Polish reader who pauses and realizes the word’s true harmful power.

Such word choice on Dowie’s part reveals her internalized prejudices which stem from her upper class upbringing. It also reveals just how strong the influences of one’s social sphere really are, for such ideas must have come to Dowie from somewhere.

It is also worthy to note that Dowie’s decision to travel to Poland was not based on a desire to broaden her understanding of European culture. She simply wanted to show the world that a woman could travel alone – first traveling to France, then Germany and finally reaching Poland (Adams 317). In fact, she admits that she knew nothing about Poland and that she did not feel that her ignorance required an apology (Dowie 765).

She also states, “I hope that nothing I have said will induce anybody else to come” (771). After a lengthy explanation of the beauty and safety of Poland, one might wonder why Dowie hopes to prevent others from visiting and experiencing the beauty first hand.

One might wonder,

What is the point of boasting the greatness of a peoples and in the same breath warning others away from them?

A.S Hartrick and His Lamplighter

Born in Bangalore in 1864, Archibald Standish Hartrick was an illustrator and lithographer (Tate). He was known for his illustrations depicting working class individuals, one of such being published in the second volume of The Yellow Book in 1894.

Hartrick’s Lamplighter portrays a working class male who is in the midst of doing his job. Although he plays an integral role in his society, he is disconnected from the “others” – who are seen in the background of the picture.

Interestingly, in some ways Hartrick’s lamplighter mirrors Dowie’s Wladislaw. Dowie describes Wladislaw as wearing “old trousers,” “grey shirt,” “half-opened waistcoat” (Dowie 90), and “cap” (97). Hartrick’s lamplighter seems to wear the same attire. On a deeper level, the two men are alike in their dedication to work. Wladislaw’s mind was “utterly and entirely on his work” (96), and from his determined stance it can be inferred that the lamplighter was focused on his work as well.

France in the 1800s: Sentiments Towards Immigrants

Given that the plot of Wladislaw’s Advent is set in Paris, it is worthy to analyze how the French felt towards newcomers to their country.

Burgess’ book entitled Refuge in the Land of Liberty reveals the French peoples’ acceptance of Polish refugees. The November Uprising of 1830 and Russia’s successful capture of Poland, marked the beginnings of a period called “The Great Emigration” - a time when France accepted thousands of emigrants into its borders (Chastain). The French peoples supported Poles, going to extents of creating a national committee to raise money for them and wearing red and white to symbolically represent their solidarity (Burgess 53).

Thanks to certain clues in Dowie’s text, it can be assumed that Wladislaw was part of this immigration influx. However, the text also reveals that his experience in Paris was far from pleasant. Wladislaw despised Paris (Dowie 97) and its common place ugliness (98). He was singled out by his French peers during art lessons, their “amused pairs of eyes … [watching him] quizzically” (91).

Britain in the 1800s: Sentiments Towards Immigrants

Although based in France, The Yellow Book’s publication and reception was in England. The central question remains,

               How did the British feel about migrant foreigners on their lands during the 1890s?

To my knowledge, there is limited or no research which indicates British sentiments towards immigrants and workers in the time when the works were published – 1894 and 1895.
However, thanks to the author’s personal commentary of the conditions during her time and secondary research which analyzes British attitudes towards immigrants in more recent times …

                                It can be inferred that their attitudes were not all that positive.