Two Sisters: the Sculptor Hanna Nałkowska in the Light of Zofia Nałkowska’s Novel Węże i Róże
Two Sisters: the Sculptor Hanna Nałkowska in the Light of Zofia Nałkowska’s Novel Węże i Róże

Summary/Abstract: The Polish version of the article was published in Roczniki Humanistyczne vol. 65, issue 4 (2017). The article focuses on Ernestyna Śniadowiczówna, the main character in a novel by Zofia Nałkowska, Węże i róże [Snakes and Roses] (1913). The main purpose of the work is to show that the character had its real counterpart in Zofia’s younger sister, the sculptor Hanna Nałkowska. The words of Zofia herself were crucial, who in her Diary confessed that all her novels were autobiographical to some extent. Still, researchers have not paid sufficient attention to the significant similarities between Ernestyna and Hanna Nałkowska. Węże i róże is the only piece in the writer’s output in which she analyzed the issues related to art and pointed out some characteristics of the artist. Zofia was writing her novel when Hanna was entering the world of art. A comparison between Ernestyna Śniadowiczówna and Hanna Nałkowska, as well as the information from Zofia’s Dziennik and reminiscences of their friends show that the literary character is likely to be based on a real person.

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