The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [422]
Citadel prison: Russian political prison in Warsaw, built in 1832–40. The area around the Citadel prison was also known for its numerous brothels.
Europejski Hotel: then the most luxurious hotel in Warsaw, located on Krakowskie Przedmieście.
A Romantic of the pre-1863 kind, and a positivist of the ’70s: see the discussion of Romanticism and Positivism in the Introduction, p.xiii.
mundur: Polish for ‘uniform’.
Halka: an opera by Stanisław Moniuszko, first staged in Warsaw in 1858 and very popular in Poland.
at this moment I passed out: the gathering in the cellars and the strange project championed by Leon, as well as the following changes in Wokulski’s behaviour, seem to allude to Wokulski’s participation in underground activities directly preceding the 1863 uprising.
Twardowski: a character from a Polish legend: a nobleman who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the devil’s assistance during his life. On the way to hell, Twardowski managed to escape to the moon where he is believed to have lived ever since.
And thou shalt sit upon a fierce lion without fear, and ride on a huge dragon: a quotation from the sixteenth-century Polish translation of Psalm XCI by Jan Kochanowski, Poland’s foremost poet prior to the nineteenth century.
Moltke: Helmuth Count von Moltke (1800–91), chief of the Parisian general staff and military architect of Prussia’s victories in the wars with Denmark, Austria and France.
Matejko: Jan Matejko (1838–93), the celebrated painter of large historic canvases which present glorious moments in Polish history. The Battle of Grünwald, the most famous of all Matejko’s paintings, depicts the victory of the Polish-Lithuanian forces over the Teutonic Knights at Grünwald-Tannenberg in 1410.
the incident with Nobiling: the assassination attempt against the German Emperor Wilhelm 1 on 2 June 1878. Wilhelm was wounded and temporarily abdicated in favour of his successor, Friedrich Wilhelm. He resumed the throne in December 1878.
shabash: obsolete Russian expression meaning ‘that’s enough!’ or ‘that’ll do!’ In this context, ‘and there you are!’ is closer to the intended meaning.
THIS IS A NEW YORK REVIEW BOOK
PUBLISHED BY THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CENTRAL EUROPEAN CLASSICS
New York Review Books
435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
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Translation and notes © 1996 by Central European Classics Trust
Introduction © 1996 by Stanisław Barańczak
All rights reserved.
First published in Polish as Lalka, 1890
First published in English as The Doll by Twayne Publishers, Inc., New York, 1972
This edition first published by Central European University Press, 1996
Cover image: Antonio Manici, Sylvia Hunter, 1901–2; cover design: Katy Homans
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prus, Boleslaw, 1847–1912.
[Lalka. English]
The doll/by Boleslaw Prus; introduction by Stanislaw Baranczak; translated by
David Welsh.
p.cm. — (New York Review Books classics)
1. Poland—Social conditions—19th century—Fiction. 2. Warsaw (Poland)—Social
life and customs—19th century—Fiction. 3. Social classes—Poland—Fiction.
I. Welsh, David J. II. Title.
PG7158.G6L323 2011
891.8’536—dc22
2010033548
eISBN 978-1-59017-397-8
v1.0
For a complete list of books in the NYRB Classics series, visit www.nyrb.com or write to:
Catalog Requests, NYRB, 435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014