Postać i głos. Operowe konteksty w Komediantce Reymonta
Character and voice: Operatic contexts in Komediantka by Reymont

Summary/Abstract: The article examines operatic contexts in Komediantka by Władysław Stanisław Reymont. The author proposes that the protagonist, Janka Orłowska, was constructed in analogy to operatic characters. Accordingly, the point of departure is the 19th-century typology of singing voices and their associations with personality traits that serve as the foundation for operatic roles. In analyzing the “operatic” nature of a literary character, the author explores the relationship between the narrative pattern followed by the heroine of Komediantka and the voice assigned to her – the alto, a register often associated with women from the lowest social classes, elderly women, servants, or figures who are solitary or otherwise different. On this basis, it can be argued that Janka’s voice situates her within a comic emploi. A figurative reference for her fate is found in the mockingly laughing satyr she observes in Łazienki Park. As the analysis develops, the author notes that Janka’s ties to the ontology of operatic figures are much deeper and continue into Fermenty. This interdisciplinary approach offers a completely new perspective on Reymont’s novels.

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