Where “Snow Does Not Stain Angelic Wings” – Słowacki’s Spiritual Siberia

Abstract

The article examines the spiritual evolution of Juliusz Słowacki as expressed in his poem Anhelli. Inspired by the poet’s journey to the East, the work presents a metaphorical vision of Siberia as a liminal space between life and death, while also recording the author’s inner transformation. The study focuses on crucial moments in Słowacki’s spiritual purification – such as his prayer at the Holy Sepulchre and his Easter confession – interpreting Anhelli as a mystical poem in which poetry, understood as a vision inspired by the Spirit, absorbs reality. An important element of the analysis is also the painterly quality of Słowacki’s verse, especially the role of colour
as a poetic language and as a link between literature and painting. In this context, the article discusses Witold Pruszkowski’s Anhelli cycle, a pictorial elaboration of selected eschatological motifs from the poem, including God’s love, the soul’s journey
after the death of the body, and the figure of the exiled angel Eloe.