What Discoveries await in the Provinces? Or: A rather unusual thesis novel

Aneta Mazur

A morality tale about sin and theodicy

Na prowincji gives lie to the complaints that Orzeszkowa’s novels, particularly the early ones, lack “minds troubled by the secrets of existence, tormented by the mystery of the cause of causes […], seeking to delve deep into the soul and converse with God […]. The men cast in a positive light are those who gaze at the ground, without raising a longing glance towards the heavens.”^[1] It is obvious that the positive figures in the novel do in fact contemplate “the unknown realms of eternity,” while casting gazes towards the ground and the heavens is explored in separate passages in the novel.^[2] It should thus be emphasized that in this respect, Na prowincji is actually rather interesting. Furthermore, it is one of the few works that offers glimpses of church rituals and depicts (positively) a priest. God, too, is discussed at several points in an unorthodox manner, of course, both on the level of the narrative and in the thoughts of the protagonists.

If we cast aside for a moment the low-hanging fruit of temporal-spatial realities and psychological diagnoses, the plot of the novel forms a structure featuring universal life stories that could take place anywhere and at any time since it is built around the classic model of morality, with the protagonists facing psychological struggles in choosing between good and evil. A clear eschatological perspective is indeed missing while the axiology of crime and punishment is disrupted. Still, the female “criminal” is given an exemplary punishment while words semantically related to “sin” (sin, sinner and sinful) appear around thirty times in the novel. An evident metaphysical or indeed religious aura accompanies the figure of Bolesław, who using Biblical references and stylizations took on Orzeszkowa’s favoured characteristics, namely a personality tending towards loneliness, quasi-mystical contemplation, “quiet deliberation and almost prayer-like focusing of the spirit” (part 1, chapter VIII). Godfearing hard work and Christ-like, altruistic readiness to make sacrifices further underscore this image of him.^[3] Particularly notable is the crisis that Bolesław experiences after his fiancée leaves him for the vain, “rotten” Aleksander.

And Bolesław asked using the words of Job: “Why does the sinner die surrounded by his abundance, having no cares while the just man dies sad, yet both are taken to a dark grave?” He hung his head and his mind began to wander the crossroads of his doubts, bordering on despair. In his ear the Job-like question continued to resound with endless pain (part 1, chapter XIII).

Although Topolski presented his concept of a God “as merciful as the most compassionate mercy” (part 1, chapter X) to his pupil, at the point where he breaks an incomprehensible and strict “Jehova” appears before him, who when asked about the meaning of evil and the cause of injustice can offer only one answer: admonition and demanding humility from humankind. The difference being, though, that the person who was put to the test in the nineteenth century, in contrast to Job, the believer from the land of Uz, nevertheless seeks to offer an answer in accordance with the philosophy of the era and with the stoical lessons offered by Orlicki (the utilitarian and historiosophical dimensions of the suffering individual living in a collective). The argument about human helplessness in the face of existential and eschatological mysteries is presented loud and clear. The “Job-like questions” would make a return only in Orzeszkowa’s later works, starting with Cham.