„[…] jestem bowiem z tych, którzy jeśli coś czują, to całą potęgą, jeśli kochają, to już całym huraganem”. Historia pewnej miłości w świetle korespondencji Władysława Stanisława Reymonta

Abstract

For many years, Władysław Stanisław Reymont’s biography has been the subject of discussions of literary researchers and a source of ever growing controversy. Its credibility is justifiably dubious because of considerable vagueness, gaps and biographical shifts, as well as numerous misuses, actually consistent with the intention of the author of The Peasants. Despite the fact that the writer’s curriculum vitae will probably for ever remain just a “biography full of conscious mystifications”, it is worth focusing on Reymont’s private correspondence, undoubtedly a source of reliable knowledge of the author. One of its significant and interesting elements seems to be love, and therefore references to the emotional aspect of the aforementioned writings are the subject matter of my presentation. The starting point of the deliberations is a description of “a lightning-and-thunderbolt- like” love, i.e. an analysis of the stormy affection of the author of The Vampire for Wanda Szczukowa from Zakopane. An image of Reymont less known to the readers emerges from these deliberations: an admirer, heartbreaker and lover.