Wives & Mistresses in Polish Prose

nad_niemnem_kuzminski_1986_fototeka.jpg, default, Malina (Emilia Krakowska) and Bolesław (Daniel Olbrychski) in the film "Brzezina", directed by Andrzej Wajda, 1970, photo: Renata Pajchel/Tor Film Stu, Wives & Mistresses in Polish Prose

#language & literature

The flame of love on the pages of Polish prose did not flare up very often; to tell the truth, it rather flickered. That is because the heroes - usually knights, insurgents or exiles - were preoccupied with much more pressing challenges. That is because our geographical location meant that periods of peace were extremely rare, just enough to lick our wounds.

Wilhelm Mach put it most accurately, referring to the works of Tadeusz Konwicki. Mach’s observation, in turn, was noted by Kazimierz Kutz and included in one of the texts of his volume of memoirs Klapsy i ścinki (Clappers and Snippets) (1999):

When [Konwicki] was getting down to All Souls’ Day, I met Wilhelm Mach. He asked me about Konwicki’s new film, and when I could not give a comprehensive answer, he said: ‘I'll tell you the story... of course, there will be a war, Lithuanian partisans, the protagonist will be a young man, there will be a girl too, they will be attracted to each other, but, as it always is with Tadeusz, it won’t be easy for them, he will circle around her, and circle until they find themselves in bed, and here it will be even harder, but in the end, after much torment, the situation will be beyond solution, and he will have to reach into his fly. And do you know what will happen then?... the shell cases will spill out!'

The above anecdote perfectly illustrates the romantic legacy weighing down on successive generations of Slavs living at the Vistula River. However, their duties to the homeland did not prevent them from treating their bed as something more than just a piece of furniture intended for a well-deserved rest. That has emboldened us to compile this selection of the most famous couples in Polish prose.

Bolesław Prus, 'The Waistcoat' (1882)

The Waistcoat by Bolesław Prus is a masterpiece of Polish love novella writing, despite the fact that not a single word is used to describe feelings. The uncomplicated story is extracted from the lives of an ordinary couple whose names are not even known to the narrator, a neighbour from the same tenement house. The couple were not particularly poor, which they owed to hard work. The woman gave lessons and sewed while the man sat over papers from the office until midnight. One day he suffered a haemorrhage. The doctor who was brought in spoke vaguely while the patient was daily losing weight and strength. The situation came to a point when he confessed to his wife that, in order not to worry her about the poor state of his health, he had been tightening the belt of his waistcoat with a buckle. He noticed at last that he no longer needed to, for the waistcoat was becoming too tight day by day. Hope entered his waning heart and, however short-lived, lit up his last days. Secretly, his wife shortened the other waistband of her husband’s waistcoat. Such mutual devotion, in happiness and misery to the point of death, can hardly be described by any other term than love.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, 'Trilogy' (1884–1888)

Thumbnail — Andrzej Kmicic (Daniel Olbrychski) and Oleńka Billewiczówna (Małgorzata Braunek) in The Deluge directed by Jerzy Hoffman, 1974, photo by Franciszek Kądziołka/Filmoteka Narodowa/fototeka.fn.org.pl

In each of the Trilogy novels, Henryk Sienkiewicz wove a love theme between a maiden from a noble manor and a knight. In With Fire and Sword (1884), Helena Kurcewiczówna and Jan Skrzetuski are a couple in love; in The Deluge (1886) - Oleńka Billewiczówna and Andrzej Kmicic, and in Fire in the Steppe (1888) - Barbara Jeziorkowska and Michał Wołodyjowski.

In the first two novels, the duty of the chosen woman is fortitude and patience, particularly put to the test by Kmicic/Babinicz. In the third, on the other hand, the relationship between the two main characters ends tragically. Chivalrous honour orders Mr Wołodyjowski to sacrifice his personal happiness. He dies in the ruins of the fortress he blew up in Kamieniec.

In Trilogy, the fairer sex rarely made it to the foreground, mostly being a make-weight to the glorious feats of the heroic warriors, overcoming many adversities before they reach the threshold of familial stability.

Eliza Orzeszkowa, 'On the Niemen' (1888)

Justyna Orzelska, the young heroine of Eliza Orzeszkowa’s On the Niemen, is a déclassé noblewoman raised by her uncle, the prosperous landowner Benedykt Korczyński. Thanks to her neighbourly acquaintance with an impoverished nobleman Jan Bohatyrowicz, the girl begins to appreciate the value of simple work. In love with him, she rejects the rich but vain candidates her guardians suggest she should marry. Jan, who reciprocates her feelings, fears that such a mésalliance has no chance of success. Justyna patiently overcomes her relatives’ prejudices and brings about her engagement with her beloved. In the process, she manages to settle a long-standing dispute between her uncle Benedykt and Jan’s uncle Anzelm Bohatyrowicz.

It is a beautiful example of a feeling fulfilled, triumphing over conventions and stereotypes. Orzeszkowa’s novel proved that the heroism of a nation should not be seen solely in successive armed uprisings but in the toil of everyday work in the homeland. Unfortunately, however, it is biased prose, with a clear division between industrious and parasitic individuals. This leads to predictable narrative solutions, thus discouraging potential readers.

Bolesław Prus, 'The Doll' (1890)

In The Doll, leading positivist writer Bolesław Prus described the unhappy love between the dashing merchant Wokulski and the impoverished aristocrat Izabela Łęcka. He created one of the greatest Polish romances, with a pair of people from different social classes who fail to live up to common prejudices. Wokulski, although a gifted man of action, was still a despised commoner in the eyes of the declining aristocracy. The woman he loved did not associate the institution of marriage with love but only with material goods. She despised the man who sought her affection on account of his low birth.

Wokulski, a sound rationalist in business, showed an idealistic helplessness in the sphere of feelings. Blinded by his love for Izabela Łęcka, he was unable to see her true face. Finding out that his chosen one was having an affair with his cousin Starski, he threw himself under the train like a romantic lover. In Prus's The Doll, the feeling of love, unfortunately, becomes a destructive force.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, 'Quo Vadis' (1896)

This a classic example of love breaking all barriers: tribal, caste, social and religious. Lygia, the royal daughter of the northern Slavic Lugii tribe, ended up in Rome as a hostage. Marcus Vinicius, on the other hand, was a Roman military tribune and a wealthy patrician. Młodzieńcem skłonnym do uciech stołu i łoża, uczestnikiem rozpasanych uczt na cesarskim dworze Nerona. Influenced by his infatuation with Lygia, who first dared to resist his coarse advances, he underwent an inner transformation. As he followed the girl, he became convinced that she was a follower of Christianity, the monotheistic religion that Nero had fought against. He saw the value and power of the message coming from the Christian religious rites.

In the hitherto ruthless Roman, his conscience awoke. He began to get involved in protecting Lygia. He makes bold endeavours, gets baptised, and finally, his advances are accepted. The culmination of his struggle to win her heart was their marriage in the name of the Christian God.

Stefan Żeromski, 'Homeless People' (1900)

Tomasz Judym (Jan Englert) and Joasia Podborska (Anna Nehrebecka) in Doktor Judym directed by Włodzimierz Haupe, 1975, photo by Stanisław Szymański/ Kadr Film Studio/Filmoteka Narodowa/fototeka.fn.org.pl

Joanna Podborska, the heroine of the novel Homeless People by Stefan Żeromski, was an impoverished noblewoman. Sensitive and intelligent, she left her native land of Kielce and led an independent life, making a living from tutoring. In love with a medical doctor, Tomasz Judym, she wanted to set up a home with him. He, a young, enthusiastic doctor, came from a low social class. He was wholeheartedly committed to improving the plight of the proletariat. However, he had a sense of the inadequacy of philanthropic efforts. He was preoccupied with projects for radical change, which put him in eternal conflict with those around him. This also led to frequent changes of location. He was forced to move from Warsaw via Cisy to Zagłębie.

Despite his love for Joasia Podborska, he gave up his personal happiness to devote himself entirely to the fight against the injustice of excluded people. As a result, Tomasz and Joasia grew distant from each other, which caused them much suffering. The woman, however, did nothing to win back her beloved. Perhaps she recognised the nobility of the doctor’s mission, although it is possible that her pride did not allow her to act on it. Another example of unfulfilled love.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, 'The Knights of the Cross' (1900)

In The Knights of the Cross, Henryk Sienkiewicz sketched a picture of love reaching the ideal, with heroes guided by the precepts of the knightly code. Danusia, the beloved daughter of the mighty and valiant Jurand of Spychów, a courtier to the Duchess of Mazovia, became the first love of Zbyszek of Bogdaniec. As a token of her reciprocity, she saved him from an executioner's axe in the Krakow market square. Za napad na posłów krzyżackich krewki młodzieniec został bowiem skazany na śmierć. The survivor did not rest until he found his chosen one, deceitfully abducted by envoys of the Teutonic Order. He recaptured Danusia from the hands of the Teutonic Knights, who kidnapped her to humiliate her father imprisoned in Szczytno castle - only to soon witness her demise. Maciek of Bogdaniec, Zbyszek’s uncle and guardian, had found a suitable match for him. The young, robust and fearless noblewoman Jagienka became Zbyszek’s second love.

Władysław Reymont, 'The Peasants' (1904)

Jagna Paczesiówna (Emilia Krakowska) in The Peasants directed by Jan Rybkowskie, 1973, photo: Filmoteka Narodowa, fototeka.fn.org.pl

Because of its uncompromising treatment of the theme of love, Władysław Reymont’s The Peasants is an absolute exception in Polish literature. Nowhere else can we find a madder, rule-breaking, sensual love between two irrepressible temperaments. The author portrayed this without the slightest inhibition as if his writing was also driven by spontaneous instinct.

The village beauty Jagna Paczesiówna became the second wife of the wealthiest farmer in the village, the aged Maciej Boryna. Surrounded by household members unfavourably disposed towards her, she endured her role as mistress of the house badly. She soon lost herself in an affair with her husband’s son, Antek Boryna. The love was reciprocated. They both disregarded the fact that he was a married man and father of two children. Their hot passion did not escape the attention of not only those closest to them, but also the rest of the village community. Jagna was considered immoral, judged and expelled from the village. Antek, who, after Maciej’s sudden death, took over the patrimony and repaired his relationship with his wife, managed to avoid a similar fate.

Stefan Żeromski, 'The Faithful River' (1912)

In The Faithful River, Stefan Żeromski portrays a poor noblewoman, Salomea Brynicka, the daughter of the bailiff of Niezdoły, her uncle’s estate. Risking her life, she hid there a wounded insurgent, Józef Odrowąż, with whom she fell in love reciprocally. He, in turn, at his mother’s request, was forced to go abroad for treatment. The subsequent intervention of his mother, both arrogant and tactless, was aimed at ensuring that the young couple never saw each other again. The humiliated Salome voluntarily gave up her feelings for the rescued young man, who was unaware of his mother’s plot.

Maria Dąbrowska, 'Nights and Days' (1931–1934)

In Nights and Days, Maria Dąbrowska gave as complete a panorama as possible of Polish fortunes at the turn of the 20th century. The four-volume fresco of everyday life, with historical references, could not omit the theme of emotional relationships. The pair of main characters complemented each other as opposites. Barbara, née Ostrzeńska, was of a reflective nature, and although she often manifested her discord with life, she coped remarkably bravely with all the challenges she faced in moments of historical trial. Deep down, she remained faithful to her first love, Count Józef Toliboski, who, however, was united in marriage to a dowdier maiden.

Barbara finally accepted the proposal of Bogumił, 15 years older than her, a déclassé nobleman, an insurgent of the January Uprising. A man in constant harmony with nature, losing himself in work for his family. And for the land. The marriage of convenience (despite its ups and downs) can be considered successful.

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, 'Brzezina' ('The Birch Groove') (1933)

Stanisław (Olgierd Łukaszewicz) and Malina (Emilia Krakowska) in Brzezina (The Birch Groove) directed by Andrzej Wajda, 1970, photo by Renata Pajchel/Tor Film Studio/Filmoteka Narodowa, fototeka.fn.org.pl

The protagonists of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz’s short story Brzezina (The Birch Groove) are a sensually driven yet completely mismatched couple. A simple country girl, Malina, the shooter’s sister, has established an erotic relationship with a likeable young man from the city. His name is Stanisław; he suffers from tuberculosis and has come straight from a sanatorium in Davos to visit his brother to die at his place. The need for contact with the alluring Malina mobilised Stanislaw’s vital forces and allowed him to stay alive for a little longer. His older brother, the forester Bolesław, fell into a kind of melancholic depression after the death of his wife. He noticed the joie de vivre spreading over Stanisław’s frail body and began to compete with him in his wooing of Malina. In its own way, the liberated sensuality of the country girl pulls both brothers out of the clutches of death - although the younger one, unfortunately, not for long.

Zofia Nałkowska, 'The Frontier' (1935)

The Frontier by Zofia Nałkowska explores two main thematic motifs: rejected love as a reason for revenge and marital infidelity. Justyna Bogutówna, a naive country girl, is seduced by Zenon Ziembiewicz. Among the impoverished land-owning gentry from which he came, similar casual erotic adventures were tolerated, sometimes nolens volens accepted by legitimate spouses.

Zenon, an intelligent man who completed his studies in Paris, pursued a career as a journalist, civil servant and town mayor. He married Elżbieta Biecka, a noble and emotional person sensitive to manifestations of evil. She supported her husband, although she disapproved of his tendency to indulge in moral compromises. Justyna became pregnant. After having her pregnancy terminated, she plunged into depression, from which neither Zenon’s nor his wife’s attempts to help could extricate her. The disappointed and upset lover took revenge on Ziembiewicz. 'Sent from the dead', as she claimed, she blinded him with corrosive acid.

Maria Kuncewiczowa, 'Cudzoziemka' ('The Stranger') (1936)

The heroine of Maria Kuncewiczowa’s Cudzoziemka is Róża (Rose), a beautiful woman of a sensitive nature. She especially loved music. She liked to feel superior to others, especially to men she coquetted. She had many affairs before offering her hand to the timid Adam, a maths teacher, with whom she was at loggerheads for the next 40 years. Her husband resignedly succumbed to his wife’s pressure and seemed huddled within himself, never able to fight for his own. His wife’s beauty became a torment to him. He knew that his love was unrequited.

Róża was an unfulfilled singer, so she placed her dashed hopes on her daughter. She was self-centred, domineering and megalomaniacal, something she only realised at the end of her life. She became aware of her own alienation - she felt like a 'stranger' everywhere.

Adolf Rudnicki, 'Niekochana' ('Unloved') (1937)

Unloved by Adolf Rudnicki is the story of a toxic relationship. The novella tells the story of the feelings and passions of a couple of young people: a Jewish girl Noemi and a student at the Academy of Fine Arts, a Pole Kamil Berger. The girl was in love with Kamil, felt fulfilled, and could not imagine her life without him. On the other hand, he was looking for his place beyond the banality of everyday life and did not understand Noemi’s possessive love. He did not love her and could not define his feelings. On the one hand, he felt the relationship with the girl violated his freedom. On the other, he was unable to part with Noemi, who was in love with him and forgave him everything. The story of this love was one of agonising break-ups and comebacks for both of them. Unsuccessful attempts to reach an understanding drove the girl to complete nervous exhaustion.

Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz 'Znachor' ('The Quack') (1937)

Marysia Wilczurówna (Anna Dymna) and Leszek Czyński (Tomasz Stockinger) in Znachor directed by Jerzy Hoffman, 1981, photo by Józef Letkier/Filmoteka Narodowa/fototeka.fn.org.pl

In Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz’s Znachor, we meet Marysia, a woman working in a village haberdashery shop, who does not know her origins. Because of her success with the local boys, she becomes the object of indecent gossip, especially when Leszek Czyński, a student at the polytechnic and son of wealthy factory owners, starts courting her. Driven by feelings for the girl, the spoilt and self-confident only child turned into a reserved, sensitive person. Marysia was fond of an older man, the village quack Antoni Kosiba. When the girl and Czyński had a motorbike accident, Kosiba saved both their lives, despite operating in deplorable conditions. Czyński broke his parents’ resistance and married Marysia Wilczurówna. As it soon turned out, she was the daughter of a professor of medicine who, severely wounded in a bandit attack, suffered from memory loss. Before he fully regained it, he passed for Antoni Kosiba for many years.

Perhaps surprisingly, the list does not include the prose of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Bruno Schulz or Witold Gombrowicz. Their works, saturated with eroticism, did not produce works featuring vivid couples. An exception could be Witkacy’s novel 622 upadki Bunga, czyli Demoniczna kobieta (The 622 Falls of Bungo, or Demon Woman) - where Akne and Bungo are actually Irena Solska and the author - except that the first edition of the scandalous work with a personal key could only be published in 1972.

We conclude our review of the most famous couples on the pages of Polish literature before the Second World War. Love themes in our literature obviously continue. However, in this particular slice of life that interests us, it did not produce similarly orchestrated love duos who are equally memorable.

Translated from Polish by Agnieszka Mistur

Language English

henryk sienkeiwicz

#fairytales #literature #nobel #tokarczuk #reymont #prus #orzeszkowa #sienkiewicz

Polish novel