Jeszcze inna zabawa Lalką
Another Way of Playing with The Doll

Summary/Abstract: The realism of Bolesław Prus’s novel The Doll [Lalka] has been studied many times in relation to the topography of Warsaw, but his pedantic accuracy also extends to the domain covered by the railway. Contrary to the claims of eminent scholars (such as Józef Bachórz and Stanisław Fita), Prus’s description of Wokulski’s aborted journey to Cracow is perfectly in sync with the timetable from the second half of May 1879. Wokulski’s return from Skierniewice to Warsaw and his earlier suicide attempt also overlap with actual train times. The train timetable appears to be a key text in the interpretation of The Doll. This is a novel about the life of the great metropolis, whose smooth functioning, according to Georg Simmel, demands citizens meticulously to respect the ‘trans-subjective time scheme’ [übersubjektives Zeitschema].

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