Więźniowie w literaturze drugiej połowy XIX w. (na przykładzie wybranych utworów Marii Konopnickiej i Elizy Orzeszkowej)
Prisoners in the literature of the second half of the 19th century (based on selected works by Maria Konopnicka and Eliza Orzeszkowa)

Author(s): Marta Gastoł
Subject(s): Polish Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: positivist literature; Eliza Orzeszkowa; Maria Konopnicka; prison; exclusion; recidivism; institutions
Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the depiction of prisoners in the literature of the second half of the 19th century, based on selected works by Maria Konopnicka and Eliza Orzeszkowa. The prisoner is presented as a figure of modernity, through which the authors reflect on the condition of the individual confronted with social institutions and mechanisms of exclusion. In literary representations, prison not only physically degrades a person but also proves ineffective as a space of rehabilitation. The narratives expose the superficiality of moralizing measures and reveal barriers such as illiteracy and stigmatization. Particular attention is paid to the contrast between recidivists, who manage to adapt to prison conditions, and individuals with potential for reintegration, who struggle both during imprisonment and after release. Positivist literature reveals these tensions and contradictions related to the functioning of prisons and society’s attitudes toward former prisoners.

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