In a garden of feelings
III. Dembowski Family
At the turning point in the novel: the official acquaintance of Lucjan Dolewski and Klotylda Warska, illness also rages in the Dembowski family home, and it is this illness that brings them together. In Dr. Dolewski’s absence, Klotylda plays the role of a doctor—she is not, but, as she herself emphasizes:
When I lived in large cities, I often spent hours talking about medicine with learned doctors and also read some books on this science; therefore, sometimes, in an urgent need, I give at least temporary advice to a sick person (part II, chapter II).
Her statement suggests that she wants to play the role of a doctor, or even a sage, for the small-town audience. This attitude and actions do not gain the understanding of the manager of her estate (“the woman doctor was beyond his comprehension” – part II, chapter II), but she greatly impresses the belatedly arriving doctor:
“The disease hasn’t progressed completely yet; I hope we’ll be able to prevent it from taking a turn for the worse. But,” he added, “who among you has so aptly replaced me with the sick woman so far? Sometimes one must admire good foresight, because applying ice to the head was so necessary and significantly slowed the progression of the disease.” (part II, chapter II).
This theme can also be recognized as a voice in the discussion about women. The question of whether they are suited to responsible professions, requiring intellectual effort and often sacrificing their lives, seems open at this point. Orzeszkowa, however, does not provide a clear answer. She certainly wants Dembowski’s doubts to highlight how archaic and parochial the thinking of men (and often women) living in N. is, a town that can be considered a lens of small-town society. The question remains: does Klotylda’s attitude and fate tip the scales of this discussion? By creating the character of a femme fatale, who ultimately abandons her life of entertainment and contributes to the prosperity and perfect functioning of the entire town’s social sphere, is Orzeszkowa arguing for or against the established order? Perhaps this theme explains why illness is the axis of the entire work. At the beginning, Dolewski visits patients one by one, which is understandable given his profession. However, it is only when Dembowska begins to feel ill (it is not entirely clear what she was diagnosed with, apart from a fever), and Warska saves her life in a spectacular manner, that the symptoms of various ailments become extremely clear.
The Dembowski family is unique in the context of all the novel’s characters. Their home is an oasis of peace, set apart from the lavishly furnished and still turbulent Jodłowski manor:
In the second courtyard, separated from the residential house and the manor outbuildings by an iron enclosure and an almost impenetrable wall of fir trees, the grey house, intended as a tenant’s apartment, was neat and orderly, for Mr. Dembowski liked order, and his wife was a good housekeeper, but modest and noble. In the spacious and comfortable rooms, the floors were not waxed but painted red; in front of the ash sofas stood tables covered with homemade mesh napkins; in the corners of the drawing room, on old-fashioned étagères, variously shaped cups of questionable porcelain or bouquets of knitted flowers, also homemade, were placed, protected from dust by glass lampshades, cracked along their length and width (part II, chapter I; emphasis – A.K.).
Everything here seems to suggest that the residents care about their space, but in a decidedly different way than in a manor house. There are more contrasting colours, all the appliances are of rather poor quality, and the decorations were handmade by the residents themselves.
The vegetation is also unsophisticated: “On the windows, instead of oranges and camellias decorating the manor porch, behind the white muslin curtains bloomed monthly roses, mignonette, and geraniums” (part II, chapter I). Its significance rather suggests good relations between the household members. It is emphasized that the lady of the house is familiar with the symbolism of flowers: “only occasionally, brought from the greenhouse, would appear a fragrant datura or a magnificent hydrangea, disliked by Mrs. Dembowska herself, because it was said that it brought quarrels into the house” (part II, chapter I). This is also one of the few places where Mrs. Dembowska has a voice. Her permanent absence from the novel is generally noticeable, especially when the woman is ill and, as an adult, utters no significant word about her health. Only here do two girls appear who have the courage to openly admit all their weaknesses and dreams. This is likely due to the fact that they are still children, but it is precisely to them that Orzeszkowa left this childishness. Mr. Dembowski makes no attempt to hide his feelings or pretend to be anything other than who he really is (he readily jokes, often inappropriately, has his own catchphrase, and is eager to do his job well).
Magdzia, a rather infantile and naive girl entering adolescence, also belongs to the Dembowski family. She says of her preferences: “I also like flowers, especially white and crimson ones, and when I die, I will ask my sisters to plant white roses and crimson carnations on my grave” (part II, chapter III). If one were to define the character of the person uttering these words through the signals contained in the symbolism of flowers, one would have to say that she is someone in love, seeking warmth and lasting love. However, she cannot admit her desires because she is the daughter of the Jodłowa steward, and in her situation, it is difficult (both to the heiress and the rest of the town community) to confess that the object of her love is Lucjan Dolewski. The girl poses as a polite young lady who devotes herself to the common good, drawing inspiration from the best role models. The disease of pretence compels her to be content with who she is and where she is. Meanwhile, Magdzia suffers from her love for the doctor and from social maladjustment. She lacks the courage to express either of these feelings publicly. The differences between her appearance and her inner self are profound. She becomes close to Warska, fascinated by her, but very quickly discovers the interest of the beautiful lady with the doctor and begins to sense a rival in the Jodłowa heiress. The girl’s low self-esteem (she is uneducated and feels ugly) leaves her on the verge of depression and nervous irritability. Perhaps this is why, after the great tragedy of Lucjan’s death, Magdzia decides not to radically change her life; she likely sinks deeper into the melancholy well-known from Orzeszkowa’s subsequent novels. And although after Dolewski’s death “she was no longer the former, naive, and rosy-cheeked Magdzia” (part II, Epilogue), “she firmly declared she would never marry and stayed with her parents, only occasionally escaping for a few days to the home of the deranged mother of the man she had once loved with such a devoted love” (part II, Epilogue). Thus, she first plays the role of someone sacrificing herself for everyone, only to ultimately become such a person and choose a life of solitude. One could say that she resolves to play this role for the rest of her life.
