„Zatem czysta chłopska krew?”. O splocie klasy i „rasy” w Wirach Henryka Sienkiewicza
“Therefore of Pure Peasant Blood?”. Class and “Race” in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Wiry [Maelstroms]

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the issue of the racialization divisions of society in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Wiry (Maelstroms), fitting, on the one hand, to a critical reflection on the category of “race”, and, on the other hand, to contemporary Polish discussions on peasantness/plebeianness. The text proves that the writer’s attitude to the issues discussed is marked by a specific dichotomy, which somewhat corresponds to the two main threads of the novel: the romance and the revolution. While in the romance thread the division into “good” – noble and “bad” – peasant instincts, blood, “race” is undermined, in the revolutionary thread an important role is played by the dehumanization of socialists and the masses, taking the form of class racism.

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