Od pramatki kiedry do wnuczki jabłonki. Historie rodowe w "Listach z nieba" Stanisława Vincenza
From the Arolla pine-primeval mother to the apple tree-granddaughter. The family histories in Stanisław Vincenz’s “Letters from Heaven”

Summary/Abstract: The article attempts to reconstruct the family history of the Szumej family, characters in Stanisław Vincenz’s cycle On the High Uplands: Sagas, Song, Tales and Legends of the Carpathians. The most interesting motif of the story is the origin of the family from trees. The descriptions of trees and the consequences of the characters’ unusual origin were analysed. Several images of the Arolla pine are distinguished: the warrior, gazda (the Hutzul farmer in the Carpathians), the mother of the family, the tree of life and death. The features inherited by the descendants of trees are: perseverance, unbearableness, physical strength, and care and trust in the world. Due to the patrilineal structure of the family, women are in the background of family histories – there is no female narrator, the last woman in the family dies. On the social and symbolic level, there is no continuous generational bond between women. The article also points out that the history of the Szumej family, symbolic references to the history of salvation are included.

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