Wiedźma na końcu świata. Trop śląskiej czarownicy w „Pierwszej polce” Horsta Bienka
The Witch at the End of the World:Traces of a Silesian Witch in Horst Bienek’s „Pierwsza polka”

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes the character of Emilia Piątek (Wassermilka), the protagonist of Horst Bienek’s Gliwice tetralogy, with particular emphasis on the first volume, titled Pierwsza polka. Wassermilka is situated within the figure of the witch and examined against the backdrop of cultural, social, and symbolic markers that define the literary heroine as a witch. Ecofeminist thought, the concept of monstrous femininity, and Silvia Federici’s fundamental reflections in Caliban and the Witch serve as the starting point for a reflection on the identity of the Silesian witch. The article also draws attention to the motif of water in the novel, particularly the river, which resonates with Astrid Neimanis’s concept of hydrofeminism, suggesting con-nections between human and non-human organisms based on the flow of fluids. By weaving these perspectives together, the character of Wassermilka is interpreted in a multi-layered way, situated at the intersection of issues related to gender, locality, and mythological imagination.

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