Abstract

The subject of the research is a worldview of a 6–11-year-old child from a Polish noble family, as it is represented in the memoirs by Jan Bułhak. The aim of the study is to characterize child-rearing in the second half of the 19th century. The memories of the typical representative of the Polish nobility about his childhood are used for the first time in academic research. It allows us to see national peculiarities in the upbringing of the noble young generation and to reveal the features of the educational process in noble families, as well as in Polish families in general. The article characterizes various aspects of the family life of the Polish noblemen in the second half of the 19th century. Taking into consideration demographic factors, the analysis indicates the transition to the family of a different type with decreasing mortality and fertility. This contributed to higher attention to the problems of raising children and preparing them for the life outside the family that usually started during adolescence. Basic character traits were formed in childhood. The system of children upbringing and education in the families of Polish gentry was basically little different from the one in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century. It is marked by certain disconnectedness from same-age peers, perception of one’s own position in the society as unique that was stimulated by parents and teachers, and a kind of unsystematic home education and even its occasional complete failure due to the employment of unprofessional people. The Polish noblemen were destined to participate in the life of the gentry, being part of the pan-European society. Therefore, learning French at an early stage was even more important than learning their native language. At the same time, political factors had a considerable impact upon the process of upbringing Polish children and inner-family relations. For example, they were expressed in the rejection of the Russian language, enveloping participants of Polish uprisings with an aura of heroism, etc.