Editing Joseph Conrad (section)

===Early years===
[[File:Współpracownicy "Kłosów" Pisarze Korzeniowski Apollo (78212).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Conrad's writer father, [[Apollo Korzeniowski]]]]
Conrad was born on 3 December 1857 in [[Berdychiv]] ({{langx|pl|Berdyczów}}), [[Ukraine]], then part of the [[Russian Empire]]; the region had once been part of the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zins|first=Henryk|title=Joseph Conrad and Africa|year=1982|publisher=Kenya Literature Bureau|location=Nairobi|page=12}}</ref> He was the only child of [[Apollo Korzeniowski]]—a writer, translator, political activist, and would-be revolutionary—and his wife Ewa Bobrowska. He was christened ''Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski'' after his maternal grandfather Józef, his paternal grandfather Teodor, and the heroes (both named "Konrad") of two poems by [[Adam Mickiewicz]], ''[[Dziady (poem)|Dziady]]'' and ''[[Konrad Wallenrod]]''. His family called him "Konrad", rather than "Józef".{{NoteTag|Conrad's biographer [[Zdzisław Najder]] wrote,

::"...  When he was baptized at the age of two days, on 5 December 1857 in [[Berdyczów]], no [[birth certificate]] was recorded because the baptism was only 'of water.'  And during his official, documented baptism (in [[Żytomierz]]) five years later, he himself was absent, as he was in [[Warsaw]], awaiting exile into Russia together with his parents.

::"Thus there is much occasion for confusion.  This is attested by errors on tablets and monuments.  But examination of documents—not many, but quite a sufficient number, survive—permits an entirely certain answer to the title question.

::"On 5 December 1857 the future writer was christened with three given names:  ''Józef'' (in honor of his maternal grandfather), ''Teodor'' (in honor of his paternal grandfather) and ''Konrad'' (doubtless in honor of the hero of part III of [[Adam Mickiewicz]]'s ''[[Dziady (poem)|Dziady]]''). These given names, in this order (they appear in no other order in any records), were given by Conrad himself in an extensive autobiographical letter to his friend [[Edward Garnett]] of 20 January 1900.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Conrad|first=Joseph|editor-last=Najder|editor-first=Zdzisław|title=Listy J. Conrada|year=1968|location=Warsaw|language=Polish}}</ref>

::"However, in the official birth certificate (a copy of which is found in the [[Jagiellonian University]] Library in [[Kraków]], manuscript no. 6391), only one given name appears:  ''Konrad''.  And that sole given name was used in their letters by his parents, Ewa, ''née'' Bobrowska, and [[Apollo Korzeniowski]], as well as by all members of the family.

::"He himself signed himself with this single given name in letters to Poles.  And this single given name, and the surname 'Korzeniowski,' figured in his passport and other official documents.  For example, when 'Joseph Conrad' visited his native land after a long absence in 1914, just at the outbreak of World War I, the papers issued to him by the military authorities of the Imperial-Royal [[Austro-Hungarian Monarchy]] called him 'Konrad Korzeniowski.'"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Najder|first=Zdzislaw|url=http://www.nbp.pl/aktualnosci/wiadomosci_2007/conradzn.pdf|title=Jak się nazywał Joseph Conrad? ("What Was Joseph Conrad's Name?")|access-date=17 October 2015|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301072949/http://www.nbp.pl/aktualnosci/wiadomosci_2007/conradzn.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Though the vast majority of the surrounding area's inhabitants were Ukrainians, and the great majority of Berdychiv's residents were Jewish, almost all the countryside was owned by the Polish ''[[szlachta]]'' (nobility), to which Conrad's family belonged as bearers of the [[Nałęcz coat-of-arms]].{{sfnp|Stape|2007|p=2}} Polish literature, particularly patriotic literature, was held in high esteem by the area's Polish population.{{sfnp|Stewart|1968|p=1}}

Poland had been [[Third Partition of Poland|divided among Prussia, Austria and Russia in 1795]]. The Korzeniowski family had played a significant role in Polish attempts to regain independence. Conrad's paternal grandfather Teodor had served under Prince [[Józef Poniatowski]] during [[French invasion of Russia|Napoleon's Russian campaign]] and had formed his own cavalry squadron during the [[November Uprising|November 1830 Uprising]] of Poland-Lithuania against the Russian Empire.{{sfnp|Meyers|1991|pp=2–3}} Conrad's fiercely patriotic father Apollo belonged to the "Red" political faction, whose goal was to re-establish the pre-partition boundaries of Poland and that also advocated land reform and the abolition of serfdom. Conrad's subsequent refusal to follow in Apollo's footsteps, and his choice of exile over resistance, were a source of lifelong guilt for Conrad.{{sfnp|Meyers|1991|pp=10–11, 18}}{{NoteTag|"Russia's defeat by Britain, France and Turkey [in the Crimean War] had once again raised hopes of Polish independence.  Apollo celebrated his son's christening with a characteristic patriotic–religious poem: "To my son born in the 85th year of Muscovite oppression". It alluded to the [[First Partition of Poland|partition of 1772]], burdened the new-born [...] with overwhelming obligations, and urged him to sacrifice himself as Apollo would for the good of his country:<br /> 'Bless you, my little son:<br /> Be a Pole! Though foes<br /> May spread before you<br /> A web of happiness<br /> Renounce it all: love your poverty...<br /> Baby, son, tell yourself<br /> You are without land, without love,<br /> Without country, without people,<br /> While Poland – your Mother is in her grave<br /> For only your Mother is dead – and yet<br /> She is your faith, your palm of martyrdom...<br /> This thought will make your courage grow,<br /> Give Her and yourself immortality.'"{{sfnp|Meyers|1991|p=10}}}}

[[File:Nowy7DSC 1095.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|[[Nowy Świat]] 47, [[Warsaw]], where three-year-old Conrad lived with his parents in 1861]]

Because of the father's attempts at farming and his political activism, the family moved repeatedly. In May 1861 they moved to [[Warsaw]], where Apollo joined the resistance against the Russian Empire. He was arrested and imprisoned in Pavilion X{{NoteTag|"X" is the [[Roman numeral]] for "Ten".}} – the dread [[Warsaw Citadel|Tenth Pavilion]] – of the [[Warsaw Citadel]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Taborski|first=Roman|year=1969|volume=XIV|title=Korzeniowski, Apollo|encyclopedia=[[Polski słownik biograficzny]]|publisher=[[Polska Akademia Nauk]]|location=[[Wrocław]]|pages=167–68}}</ref> Conrad would write: "[I]n the courtyard of this Citadel—characteristically for our nation—my childhood memories begin."{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=19}} On 9 May 1862 Apollo and his family were exiled to [[Vologda]], {{convert|500|km|mi}} north of Moscow and known for its bad climate.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=19–20}} In January 1863 Apollo's sentence was commuted, and the family was sent to [[Chernihiv]] in northeast Ukraine, where conditions were much better. However, on 18 April 1865 Ewa died of [[tuberculosis]].{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=19–25}}

Apollo did his best to teach Conrad at home. The boy's early reading introduced him to the two elements that later dominated his life: in [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Toilers of the Sea]]'', he encountered the sphere of activity to which he would devote his youth; [[Shakespeare]] brought him into the orbit of English literature. Most of all, though, he read [[Polish Romanticism|Polish Romantic poetry]]. Half a century later he explained that 
<blockquote>"The Polishness in my works comes from [[Adam Mickiewicz|Mickiewicz]] and [[Juliusz Słowacki|Słowacki]]. My father read [Mickiewicz's] ''[[Pan Tadeusz]]'' aloud to me and made me read it aloud.... I used to prefer [Mickiewicz's] ''[[Konrad Wallenrod]]'' [and] ''[[Grażyna (poem)|Grażyna]]''. Later I preferred Słowacki. You know why Słowacki?... [He is the soul of all Poland]".{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=27}}</blockquote>

In the autumn of 1866 young Conrad was sent for a year-long retreat, for health reasons, to [[Kyiv|Kiev]]<!--Consensus is to not change "Kiev" to "Kyiv" per WP:KYIV--> and his mother's family estate at {{ill|Novofastiv|de|Nowofastiw}}.{{sfnp|Najder|1969|p=173}}

In December 1867 Apollo took his son to the [[Austrian Poland|Austrian-held part of Poland]], which for two years had been enjoying considerable internal freedom and a degree of self-government. After sojourns in [[Lviv|Lwów]] and several smaller localities, on 20 February 1869 they moved to [[Kraków]] (until 1596 the capital of Poland), likewise in Austrian Poland. A few months later, on 23 May 1869, Apollo Korzeniowski died, leaving Conrad orphaned at the age of eleven.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=31–34}} Like Conrad's mother, Apollo had been gravely ill with tuberculosis.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=26}} 
[[File:Tadeusz Bobrowski.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|[[Tadeusz Bobrowski]], Conrad's maternal uncle, mentor, benefactor]]
The young Conrad was placed in the care of Ewa's brother, [[Tadeusz Bobrowski]]. Conrad's poor health and his unsatisfactory schoolwork caused his uncle constant problems and no end of financial outlay. Conrad was not a good student; despite tutoring, he excelled only in geography.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=43}} At that time he likely received only private tutoring, as there is no evidence he attended any school regularly.{{sfnp|Najder|1969|p=173}} Since the boy's ill health was clearly of nervous origin, the physicians supposed that fresh air and physical work would harden him; his uncle hoped that well-defined duties and the rigors of work would teach him discipline. Since he showed little inclination to study, it was essential that he learn a trade; his uncle thought he could work as a sailor-cum-businessman, who would combine maritime skills with commercial activities.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=44–46}} In the autumn of 1871, thirteen-year-old Conrad announced his intention to become a sailor. He later recalled that as a child he had read (apparently in French translation) [[Leopold McClintock]]'s book about his 1857–59 expeditions in the ''[[Fox (ship)|Fox]]'', in search of Sir [[John Franklin]]'s lost ships ''{{HMS|Erebus|1826|2}}'' and ''{{HMS|Terror|1813|2}}''.{{NoteTag|It was still an age of exploration, in which Poles participated: [[Paweł Edmund Strzelecki]] mapped the Australian interior; the writer [[:pl:Sygurd Wiśniowski|Sygurd Wiśniowski]], having sailed twice around the world, described his experiences in Australia, Oceania and the United States; [[Jan Kubary]], a veteran of the [[January Uprising|1863 Uprising]], explored the Pacific islands.}} Conrad also recalled having read books by the American [[James Fenimore Cooper]] and the English Captain [[Frederick Marryat]].{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=41–42}} A playmate of his adolescence recalled that Conrad spun fantastic yarns, always set at sea, presented so realistically that listeners thought the action was happening before their eyes.

In August 1873 Bobrowski sent fifteen-year-old Conrad to Lwów to a cousin who ran a small boarding house for boys orphaned by the [[January Uprising|1863 Uprising]]; group conversation there was in French. The owner's daughter recalled:
{{Blockquote|He stayed with us ten months... Intellectually he was extremely advanced but [he] disliked school routine, which he found tiring and dull; he used to say... he... planned to become a great writer.... He disliked all restrictions. At home, at school, or in the living room he would sprawl unceremoniously. He... suffer[ed] from severe headaches and nervous attacks...{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=43–44}}}}

Conrad had been at the establishment for just over a year when in September 1874, for uncertain reasons, his uncle removed him from school in Lwów and took him back to Kraków.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=44}}

On 13 October 1874 Bobrowski sent the sixteen-year-old to [[Marseille]], France, for Conrad's planned merchant-marine career on French merchant ships,{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=44–46}} providing him with a monthly stipend of 150 francs.{{sfnp|Najder|1969|p=173}} Though Conrad had not completed secondary school, his accomplishments included fluency in French (with a correct accent), some knowledge of Latin, German and Greek; probably a good knowledge of history, some geography, and probably already an interest in physics. He was well read, particularly in [[Romanticism in Poland|Polish Romantic literature]]. He belonged to the second generation in his family that had had to earn a living outside the family estates. They were born and reared partly in the milieu of the working [[intelligentsia]], a social class that was starting to play an important role in Central and Eastern Europe.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|pp=46–47}} He had absorbed enough of the history, culture and literature of his native land to be able eventually to develop a distinctive [[world view]] and make unique contributions to the literature of his adoptive Britain.{{sfnp|Stewart|1968|pp=1–5}}

Tensions that originated in his childhood in Poland and increasing in his adulthood abroad contributed to Conrad's greatest literary achievements.{{sfnp|Stewart|1968|pp=246–47}} [[Zdzisław Najder]], himself an emigrant from Poland, observed:
{{Blockquote|Living away from one's natural environment—family, friends, social group, language—even if it results from a conscious decision, usually gives rise to... internal tensions, because it tends to make people less sure of themselves, more vulnerable, less certain of their... position and... value... The Polish ''[[szlachta]]'' and... intelligentsia were social strata in which reputation... was felt... very important... for a feeling of self-worth. Men strove... to find confirmation of their... self-regard... in the eyes of others... Such a psychological heritage forms both a spur to ambition and a source of constant stress, especially if [one has been inculcated with] the idea of [one]'s public duty...{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=47}}}}

Some critics have suggested that when Conrad left Poland, he wanted to break once and for all with his Polish past.{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=97}} In refutation of this, Najder quotes from Conrad's 14 August 1883 letter to family friend Stefan Buszczyński, written nine years after Conrad had left Poland:

{{blockquote|...  I always remember what you said when I was leaving [Kraków]:  "Remember"—you said—"wherever you may sail, you are sailing towards Poland!"

That I have never forgotten, and never will forget!{{sfnp|Najder|2007|p=96}}}}