Napis (Aug 2022)
A ‘judgement of the eye’? The way(s) the world is perceived in Bolesław Prus’s prose works
Abstract
The article is an attempt to analyse and interpret the visual aspect of the work of Prus, and especially the impact of the writer’s diseases (including a deepening vision defect, agoraphobia) on the ability to perceive reality and the creation of the world presented in the works (based on the novels: Emancipated Women, The Doll, Dzieci [The Children]) and on the construction of Prus’s characters in order to find an answer to the question: how do they look and what do they see? The text presents a portrait of Prus short-sighted (experienced also by a hyperopia); how the writer perceives and uses the descriptions of the colours; how he creates an image of the omnipresent four eyes-protagonist in his works; and finally – how he prepares to work, gathering materials in his notebooks, which can be described as his writing workshop. There are the author’s notes on the sight, its role and place among other senses. With time other sources of the world knowledge begin to dominate over the more and more imperfect observation: his experience, acquired knowledge, and above all – feeling.
