„Lalka” – kobiety, mężczyźni, miłość
The Doll – Women, Men, Love

Summary/Abstract: The author interprets Prus’ work as a novel about love, the relationships between men and women, about stereotypes which hamper one’s freedom to choose the right partner. She believes that Prus made reference to Narcyza Żmichowska’s The Pagan (Poganka) and to the debate concerning various types of feelings from The Introductory Scene. A peculiar love frenzy is common to both: Stanisław Wokulski and the main character of The Pagan Beniamin. The semantic structure of both titles is also homologous since it applies to some strikingly imperfect elements of femininity. Some allusions to other works of Żmichowska are also probable, for example: to The White Rose (Biała Róża). Miss Izabela Łęcka’s affinity with the title character of this mini-novel seems unaccidental.

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