The vector of Leonidas Donskis: option between homeland and conscience

Abstract

The article discusses the situation of a writer who being a member of society is going through a drama in which he must choose between his homeland and his conscience. The article reviews the situation as envisaged by Leonidas Donskis and presents a model. The main focus is on the fourth form of a writer’s relationship with society, i.e., the necessity to choose. A writer feels alienated from society. A dysfunctional relationship is formed which gives rise to the structure of the concept of alienation. Finally, the discussion turns to a few examples of alienation from society and homeland in the biographies of Witold Gombrowicz and Czesław Miłosz.