Ludzie bezdomni
Encyclopedia
Ludzie bezdomni is a book written by Stefan Żeromski
in 1899 in Zakopane
, Poland, published for the first time in 1900. It introduces readers to the life and social work of the young doctor Tomasz Judym, as well as his love of Joanna Podborska. The novel is set at the end of 19th century and presents the concept of work for the folk people and personal devotion.
In Zakopane, Żeromski met Tomasz Janiszewski, who became the prototype of the main character – Tomasz Judym.
The writer prepared himself very well to writing the novel, which constitutes the effect of his cognitive passion and positivistic views that writing must be joined with an honest, even scientific, penetration of social reality and one’s own beliefs.
Thanks to Homeless People, Żeromski gained the title of the “spiritual guide of the generation." The novel was seen as a work treating the social and moral problems of the age, as a protest against stratification and the misery of the poorest social strata of the nation. By some it was also considered to be an ideological manifesto proclaiming the fight with opportunism and egoism.
Because of the novel, Żeromski became a huge moral authority for his contemporaries, and not only in Poland – Homeless People was published in 14 languages. He exerted a direct influence on the young people’s way of thinking in the beginning of the 19th century.
Żeromski gave Judym the characteristics of a romantic hero: dilemmas, feeling of alienation, individualism. However, Żeromski’s hero also has the features of positivistic social man: the desire to devote himself to others, altruism and the idea of organic work.
Probably by giving the hero some positivistic features the writer wanted to show that the decision about the separation was necessary in order to help others.
"Because of his dilemma Tomasz Judym is a tragic hero - he has to choose between his own happiness and the obligation to pay his debt to a society."
Joanna Podborska
She is about 26 years old and is a governess of two young women. She lost her parents early in life and not only worked to maintain herself, but also her two brothers (one of them died in Irkutsk
, the other studied in Switzerland
). Her character is presented in a very interesting way—in the main plot she is only seen through the eyes of Judym, who can only read the feelings from her face. We don’t know what Joanna thinks or feels, we can only see what Tomasz sees. A lot more information about the young teacher can be gotten from her diary; we find out that she was an intelligent woman maintaining her younger siblings. She owed self-education a lot; she was constantly reading and learning, she was interested in theatre and literature. Joanna treated her job as a mission, spiritual parenthood. She was very proud and full of dignity. She wasn’t hiding her interest in men, she liked a lot of them, but never flirted. Although she desired love, she never hunted for men. Joanna wanted to be a modern woman. She believed in good, in progress, and wanted to contribute to it. She valued her independence and liked working. However, she was also very sensitive and was suffering because of her orphanage and loneliness. She was longing for her lost home and wanted to be close with someone. She loved Judym very much and thought that together they would build a house, what would end a wandering period of their lives. "Finally she is defeated, she thought the affection she felt for Judym was less important than his sense of duty." She didn’t want to stop Judym from gaining his noble aim. She was disappointed, but left with dignity.
Stefan Zeromski
Stefan Żeromski was a Polish novelist and dramatist. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under the pen names: Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla and Stefan Iksmoreż.- Life :...
in 1899 in Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
, Poland, published for the first time in 1900. It introduces readers to the life and social work of the young doctor Tomasz Judym, as well as his love of Joanna Podborska. The novel is set at the end of 19th century and presents the concept of work for the folk people and personal devotion.
Origin
Homeless People is the fifth book by Stefan Żeromski that was printed. It was written in 1899 in Zakopane, and is considered by critics and readers to have a huge social and political impact. With it, the writer started a new type of contemporary novel, grounded in the realities of Polish life at the end of 19th century that was subordinated to the main idea – social work. Doctor Judym decides to do that sort of work, when after years of sacrifices he becomes a doctor in order to help other people, especially the poor and wronged.In Zakopane, Żeromski met Tomasz Janiszewski, who became the prototype of the main character – Tomasz Judym.
The writer prepared himself very well to writing the novel, which constitutes the effect of his cognitive passion and positivistic views that writing must be joined with an honest, even scientific, penetration of social reality and one’s own beliefs.
Thanks to Homeless People, Żeromski gained the title of the “spiritual guide of the generation." The novel was seen as a work treating the social and moral problems of the age, as a protest against stratification and the misery of the poorest social strata of the nation. By some it was also considered to be an ideological manifesto proclaiming the fight with opportunism and egoism.
Because of the novel, Żeromski became a huge moral authority for his contemporaries, and not only in Poland – Homeless People was published in 14 languages. He exerted a direct influence on the young people’s way of thinking in the beginning of the 19th century.
Main characters
Tomasz Judym is a young, ambitious surgeon who thinks that his mission as a doctor is to help people harmed by lot (he wants to improve living and working conditions of the poorest). "He is a morally sensitive man rebelling against the evil and injustice". The main problem of the novel is the choice that the main character has to make between his own happiness and the happiness of the poorer classes from which he himself comes. Judym believes that if he is happy, fulfilled when it comes to love and starts a family, he will soon become an egoist and insensitive to people’s suffering—he simply won’t understand a man living in poverty. That is why the hero, despite being deeply in love with Joanna Poborska, decides to give up the vision of domestic warmth.Żeromski gave Judym the characteristics of a romantic hero: dilemmas, feeling of alienation, individualism. However, Żeromski’s hero also has the features of positivistic social man: the desire to devote himself to others, altruism and the idea of organic work.
Probably by giving the hero some positivistic features the writer wanted to show that the decision about the separation was necessary in order to help others.
"Because of his dilemma Tomasz Judym is a tragic hero - he has to choose between his own happiness and the obligation to pay his debt to a society."
Joanna Podborska
She is about 26 years old and is a governess of two young women. She lost her parents early in life and not only worked to maintain herself, but also her two brothers (one of them died in Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, the other studied in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
). Her character is presented in a very interesting way—in the main plot she is only seen through the eyes of Judym, who can only read the feelings from her face. We don’t know what Joanna thinks or feels, we can only see what Tomasz sees. A lot more information about the young teacher can be gotten from her diary; we find out that she was an intelligent woman maintaining her younger siblings. She owed self-education a lot; she was constantly reading and learning, she was interested in theatre and literature. Joanna treated her job as a mission, spiritual parenthood. She was very proud and full of dignity. She wasn’t hiding her interest in men, she liked a lot of them, but never flirted. Although she desired love, she never hunted for men. Joanna wanted to be a modern woman. She believed in good, in progress, and wanted to contribute to it. She valued her independence and liked working. However, she was also very sensitive and was suffering because of her orphanage and loneliness. She was longing for her lost home and wanted to be close with someone. She loved Judym very much and thought that together they would build a house, what would end a wandering period of their lives. "Finally she is defeated, she thought the affection she felt for Judym was less important than his sense of duty." She didn’t want to stop Judym from gaining his noble aim. She was disappointed, but left with dignity.