["Freaks"] An Excerpt from an Unfinished Novel by Eliza Orzeszkowa Cover Image

[„Dziwacy”]. Fragment nieukończonej powieści Elizy Orzeszkowej
["Freaks"] An Excerpt from an Unfinished Novel by Eliza Orzeszkowa

Author(s): Magdalena Kreft, Eliza Orzeszkowa
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Studies of Literature
Published by: Towarzystwo Literackie im. Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: Eliza Orzeszkowa; history of the 19th century literature; positivism; realism; 19th century Polish novel; 19th century Polish manuscripts; editing

Summary/Abstract: The analysis focuses on a manuscript of an unfinished and untitled novel by Eliza Orzeszkowa. The manuscript is stored in the Warsaw Archives of Eliza Orzeszkowa. The author of the paper conducts a literary and editorial investigation, makes use of the biographical context and her in-depth knowledge of all the works by Orzeszkowa, her narrative techniques, the methods of creating the settings in a novel, the individual style and the ideological issues, as well as certain factual details. to answer many questions that the unfinished novel raises, such as those concerning its literary genre, the date of its creation, its hypothetical title, the presumed development of the plot, and the fate of the characters and their attitudes, finally answering the question of why the writing process had been unexpectedly interrupted. The detailed analysis and interpretation of the preserved scenes lead to the conclusion that the excerpt could have become a part of an interesting, witty social novel of manners. The author of the paper reveals the intention, concealed in the working title of the novel: [Freaks]. The paper has been supplemented with an edited excerpt from the novel.

  • Issue Year: LXVIII/2013
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 473-499
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Polish