O aluzji biblijnej w "Faraonie" Bolesława Prusa

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of a biblical allusion in Faraon by Bolesław Prus. The names of characters (Sara, Gedeon), which refer the text ofthe novel to the Book of Genesis and the Book of Judges, are allusive. Moreover, references to Moses and Isaac are made in the text, as well as – a few times – to the Book of Kohelet. A unique feature of Bolesław Prus’s novel is that although it talks about the history of ancient Egypt, it treats the Bible as an outright historical source. The result of such an attitude is that the events described in the Old Testament (non‑existent in the descriptions by the historians of Egypt) become an element of the world presented in Prus’s work. The reason for that is the willingness to show that the problems of the fictional world are, to a certain extent, caused by an inappropriate perception of spiritual matters.

Keywords

• Bolesław Prus
• pozytywizm
• powieść historyczna
• aluzja biblijna
• onomastyka literacka