Dom z perspektywy współmałżonków przebywających na emigracji długookresowej
Home from the Perspective of Spouses Staying as Long-term Expatriates

Analysis of Autobiographical Narratives of Poles Living in Great Britain

Summary/Abstract: ntroduction. Home is an ambiguous concept that can be analysed from many different perspectives. This concept is considered in the following dimensions: material, social, axiological, cultural, and emotional. The experience of emigration may initiate reflection on the perception of home. Aim. The aim of the article is to describe and explain how emigrants understand the concept of home and how they present it. Materials and methods. The empirical material was collected by conducting autobiographical narrative interviews and analysing personal documents. The research group consisted of 20 people (i.e., 10 marital dyads) from Poland, residing in a long-term emigration in Great Britain. Results. Home in the material dimension is a fundamental element of existence, and its absence – both in homeland and in the country of emigration – is a source of problems. Home is identified by all respondents not only as being with a roof over their heads, but also with family. Where the closest family is, the respondents believe that their home is there. All of them also reflect on the understanding of the country of origin and the country of the host as (not) home, and their opinions in this regard are varied. They have been characterized by metaphors: metaphor of home in a global village, metaphor of home for the moment, metaphor of being on the road, metaphor of an uprooted tree, metaphor of a door, metaphor of a freely opening door. One couple defined their attitude towards the home identified with the home country and the host country in the same way. There was no such agreement in the other married couples. This is characterized by another metaphor: the metaphor of the negotiated home. Conclusion. The home does not have to refer to a specific geographical space. A home can be a family home where a person grew up and was brought up. Home can be a home left in the country of origin, to which one misses and returns. A home can be one created in emigration, open or closed to the influence of the culture of the host country. Home can be the homeland, the host country, the world. The house takes on a processual character, it is a dynamic project that „becomes” in the changing circumstances of life.

• Details
• Contents