Homo heroicus: Literary creations in the works of Władysław Reymont

Abstract

In studies on the numerous productions of the “artist’s novel” in the Young Poland period, Władysław Reymont is mentioned basically as an observer of the acting community. The author of the article points out, however, that the Nobel Prize winner stressed the issue of the status and rank of the writer in his work. By examining not only well-known and published works (including the short stories Franek, Wspomnienie, Z pamiętnika; the novels Komediantka, Fermenty, Ziemia obiecana, Wampir), but also projects preserved in manuscripts, she puts forward the thesis that Reymont related the writer with heroism of creative efforts renewed despite the disproportion of aspirations and life circumstances, despite the resistance of the material, the fear of imperfection and ridicule. The researcher shows that writing was for the Reymont’s characters a manifestation of an internal commandment to keep on working, a titanic struggle with their own limitations and the limitations of literary matter, but also a psychological and existential salvation. The analysis of the works allows her to state that they constitute an original variant of the opposition between the creator and the world exposed in Künstlerroman, while the tragedy of the artist’s alienation is not associated with an overgrown ego, with a proud manifestation of individualism. Referring to biographical and epistolary sources, the Author also proves that Reymont’s works can be read as a study of literary dilemmas and complexes accompanying the writer himself, especially at an early stage of his career.