@albnelson@eivind@mattmcirvin Pretty much the epitome of then Polish emigrés' mindset - the Great Emigration is a half of the dialectical compound, defining Polish self-identification almost until now (and perhaps soon again).
Polish tradition is full of such figures, citizens of imagined, never-again-to-exist, homeland. Picture yourself, what a cultural shock was to see Polonia Rediviva - an ideal, unavoidably imperfectly embodied.