The Doll
Finally I extricated the boxes – there were three large dolls, a brunette, a blonde and one with chestnut hair. Each had real hair, each blinked its eyes when pressed in the tummy, and uttered a sound which Mrs Stawska took to be ‘Mama’, Klein to be ‘Papa’, and I to be ‘Uhu.’ (538)
The title of Prus’s novel, The Doll, is ambiguous. Some readers were convinced that it relates to Izabela Łęcka, a beautiful young lady, surrounded with suitors, just as removed from the world and useless as a child’s doll, good only for play.
Another assumption is equally probable: the title of the novel came from one of the three dolls that Ignacy Rzecki speaks about in the quotation above. Additionally, a real trial for the theft of a doll becomes an excuse to introduce the colourful milieu of lawyers into the book.
What kind of doll was it? It was beautifully dressed and one of the most expensive ones, the kind that said “mama” and “papa” when their tummy was pressed. Helena Stawska’s daughter was delighted with this souvenir of the Baroness’ late child. At the time, no factory in Warsaw made celluloid dolls (which could blink and have real hair). They were imported from abroad; the trunks would be packaged separately from the heads, where the manufacturer’s stamp would be placed – in the novel this made it possible to establish the doll’s provenance. The toys’ heads and limbs were made of different materials, for example china, papier-mâché, and celluloid. The torso of Helunia’s doll was probably made of fabric – the fact that is was ripped open and sewn back up in court attests to this.
Not used exclusively for play, dolls were also ornaments with which affluent women would decorate their rooms. They were shaped according to the contemporary idea of a fashionable lady in miniature; they had tiny waists and broad hips. Their clothes were frequently made of expensive fabrics, embellished with jewellery and elegant accessories.
Children from poor families played with dolls made by hand of wood, straw or rags; silhouettes cut out from cardboard, which could be dressed in cardboard clothes, were a luxury.
→ The Trial for the Theft of a Doll; → Toys;
