Władysław Reymont

Lore & Background

Reymont was born in the village of Kobiele Wielkie, near Radomsko, one of nine children of Józef Rejment, an organist. His mother, Antonina Kupczyńska, had a talent for story-telling and descended from impoverished Polish nobility. He spent his childhood in Tuszyn, near Łódź, and after a few years of local schooling, was sent to Warsaw to learn tailoring. In 1885, he passed examinations and was given the title of journeyman tailor, his only formal certificate of education. To his family's annoyance, he never worked as a tailor, instead running away to work in a travelling provincial theatre and later in Warsaw's garden theatres. He then worked as a gateman at a railway crossing near Koluszki for 16 rubles a month, and ran away twice more: in 1888 to Paris and London as a medium with a German spiritualist, and again to join a theatre troupe. After lack of success as an actor, he returned home, also staying for a time in Krosnowa near Lipce and considering joining the Pauline Order in Częstochowa. He later lived in Kołaczkowo, where he bought a mansion.

His literary career began when his *Korespondencje* (Correspondence) from Rogów, Koluszki and Skierniewice was accepted for publication by *Głos* (The Voice) in Warsaw in 1892. He visited editorial offices and met other writers, including Świętochowski. In 1894 he went on an eleven-day pilgrimage to Częstochowa, turning his experience into the report *Pielgrzymka do Jasnej Góry* (Pilgrimage to the Luminous Mount), published in 1895. He wrote short stories and novels, including *Komediantka* (The Deceiver) (1895) and *Fermenty* (Ferments) (1896). His first successful and widely praised novel was *The Promised Land* from 1899, about the industrial city of Łódź. In 1900, he was severely injured in a railway accident and received 40,000 rubles in compensation from the Warsaw–Vienna Railway. During treatment he was cared for by Aurelia Szacnajder Szabłowska, whom he married in 1902. He partly wrote *Chłopi* between 1901 and 1908. He journeyed to the United States in 1919 at the Polish government's expense. He bought a mansion in Kołaczkowo near Poznań in 1920, but still spent winters in Warsaw or France.

Reader's Guide

Władysław Reymont's significance lies in his award-winning four-volume novel *Chłopi* (The Peasants), which earned him the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded over rivals Thomas Mann, George Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Hardy. His work is widely attributed to the Young Poland movement, featuring decadence and literary impressionism. Reymont was popular in communist Poland due to his style of writing and symbolism, including socialist concepts, romantic portrayal of the agrarian countryside, and toned criticism of capitalism, all present in literary realism. His novel *The Promised Land* brought attention to social inequalities, poverty, conflictive multiculturalism, and labour exploitation in the industrial city of Łódź, emphasizing the consequences of extreme industrialization. Critics note similarities between Reymont and the Naturalists, but stress that his Naturalism was a record of life as experienced, not borrowed. With little higher education and inability to read another language, Reymont relied on his knowledge of grounded reality. His literary output includes about 30 extensive volumes of prose, including reportage, short stories, and novels such as *Komediantka*, *Fermenty*, *Wampir* (The Vampire), and the trilogy *Rok 1794* (1794). His legacy endures as a major figure in Polish literature, recognized for his realistic portrayal of rural and industrial life.

Did You Know?

• Reymont's only formal certificate of education was as a journeyman tailor, a trade he never practiced.
• He was awarded 40,000 rubles in compensation from the Warsaw–Vienna Railway after a severe railway accident in 1900.
• He could not attend the Nobel Prize ceremony in Sweden due to a heart condition; the award and check were sent to him in France.
• His heart was laid in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw after his death.