Kłopoty z Deotymą

The article presents contradictory opinions about Jadwiga Łuszczewska (Deotyma) and her artistic works expressed by her contemporaries and future generations. These opinions are contrasted with the image of the poet that emerges from her "Pamiętniki 1834-1897" ["Memoir 1834-1897"]. Selected critical comments are set in the cultural context of the time (for example the phenomenon of poetical improvisation and a literary salon) and also set against certain biographical information. An attempt has been made to indicate possible reasons for enormous fascination, intense dislike or treatment with condescension that Deotyma herself and her controversial life choices arouse.