Maski Aleksandry Śląskiej
Aleksandra Śląska’s Masks

Summary/Abstract: This article covers the artistic achievements of Aleksandra Śląska (1925–1989), a Polish theatre and film actress remembered mainly for her portrayals of German women and aristocrats.The author focuses on the emergence of this typecasting of Śląska and counters it with a discussion of her less known professional image. The article offers an analysis of a wide array of Śląska’s diverse roles, from a part in Leon Kruczkowski’s drama Niemcy (Germans), through the title role in Henry de Montherlant’s La Reine morte and Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, to successful appearances in comedies, such as Elwira in Aleksander Fredro’s Mąż i żona (Man and Wife). The author shows that Śląska’s generation shaped Polish culture under the People’s Republic and contributed to the development of new media. Śląska co-created the Polish school of radio play, Polish school of dubbing, and Television Theatre. The article juxtaposes the myth of a cold, unapproachable actress with the image of a multi-talented interpreter exploring the complexity of human nature, a woman of the theatre active in a number of different areas. (Transl. Z. Ziemann)

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