ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE WORKS OF ELIZA ORZESZKOWA

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of the artistic representation of social issues in the works of Eliza Orzeszkowa in the context of the Polish literary process of the second half of the nineteenth century. The study focuses on the writer’s treatment of social inequality, the position of the peasantry, women’s emancipation, education, social vulnerability, and individual moral responsibility. It traces Eliza Orzeszkowa’s creative evolution from early positivist tendencies and pronounced didacticism to a more complex realistic representation of social relations, an increased emphasis on psychological analysis, and greater attention to the individual’s inner world.

Based on the works «Marta», «The Lowlands», «Dziurdziowie», «On the Niemen», «Dobra pani», «Tadeusz» and «ABC», the article analyzes the ways in which socially disadvantaged groups are represented and the mechanisms of interaction between the individual and the social environment. Particular attention is paid to representations of peasants, women, children, and other socially vulnerable characters, whose fates reveal the problems of poverty, disenfranchisement, social dependence, ignorance, class prejudice, and unequal opportunities.

It is established that social issues in Eliza Orzeszkowa’s works are represented not only at the thematic and plot levels but also through a system of artistic and lexical-stylistic devices. The study examines the functions of contrast, portrait detail, everyday vocabulary, parallelism, diminutive forms, and other devices in revealing the social and psychological characteristics of the characters. The analysis demonstrates that the writer combines social criticism with psychological insight, realistic detail, and moral and ethical reflection on human behavior. The article concludes that the artistic originality of Eliza Orzeszkowa lies in her gradual transition from the direct illustration of social ideas to a multidimensional artistic exploration of the relationship between the individual and the social environment. Her works constitute an important contribution to the development of Polish realist literature and demonstrate the potential of literature to comprehend the complex social and moral issues of the period.