Z pogromu Zofii Niedźwiedzkiej – dramat rodzinny na tle społecznej rewolty
Z pogromu by Zofia Niedźwiedzka – a family drama against the background of social revolt

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to introduce the works of Zofia Niedźwiedzka (also known as Bohowityn) – a forgotten author born in 1872 in Volhynia, whose prose depicted the social issues of the turn of the 20th century. The text presents the current state of research on her literary output and discusses contemporary reactions to her work. Niedźwiedzka’s novellas became a target for critics, yet they also served as an inspiration for other artists. Her oeuvre includes, among others, the series Czarnymi czcionkami (1908), which features the novella Z pogromu – the focal point of this analysis. It tells the story of a worker and his daughter, who is driven to prostitution by poverty and becomes involved in the so-called “pimp pogrom” of 1905. By shifting focus from a strictly documentary account of historical events to a domestic family drama, the author created a compelling portrait of destitution and the crisis of Positivist ideals in the face of the 1905 revolutionary upheavals. Niedźwiedzka demonstrated a particular sensitivity to the situation of marginalized groups, especially women. She drew attention to the social, economic, and cultural factors that led to their exclusion. For this reason, an important point of reference is one of her novels, Kobieta z przeszłością.

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