Georg Brandes as an Actor Narrating a Story about Poland

Abstract

The aim of the article is to investigate Brandes’s impact on the Poles’ self-image and to explain how he became an actor in an internal Polish network of relationships. Three aspects have been analysed with regard to this aim: the reception of Brandes in Poland, reception of Scandinavian literature in Poland as an outcome of the Danish critic’s visits and his reception, and the contemporary virtual guide to Poland “Where is Poland?”, where he is used to provide guidance on how to understand Poland. Actor-Network-Theory provides the inspiration for how to present the intertwined relations of Polish and Danish literary cultures, with changing actants and with Brandes being the key actor.