Ludzie i krowy w Chłopach Władysława Reymonta
People and Cows in Władysław Reymont’s The Peasants

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the hitherto undescribed relationship between humans andcows in Władysław Reymont’s The Peasants. The tropes used by Reymont, especiallythe personifications of nature in the Young Poland style, do not include the world ofanimals. However, the totality of Reymont’s world lies in the blurring of distinctiveboundaries between species and their subsequent restoration in an anthropocentricorder. The assumptions of animal studies and ecological realism used in the articleallow Brzozowska to show the influence of cows on human behavior, especially thatof women. Cows appear as mothers-feeders, confidants, and creatures that suppressown aggression; they are synonymous with abundance, safety, and bodily wisdom;they ethically neutralize the theme of romance; they somatize human experience. Thenon-anthropomorphic depiction of cows proves that what is human is not synonymouswith what is noble.

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