AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ENGLISH, ZOFIA NALKOWSKA'S BOUNDARY
WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS GRANICA IN POLAND IN 1935. The modernist
novel was widely discussed upon its publication and praised for its
psychological realism and stylistic and compositional artistry. Over
the years, it has been translated into several languages and made into
a feature film, and remains a standard text in the Polish secondary
school curriculum.
Nalkowska was a pioneer of feminist fiction in Central Europe. Her
observation of inequality in the treatment of men and women is at the
heart of Boundary, which explores a transgressive love affair and its
repercussions. She perceived that men—especially of the upper and
middle classes—felt free to have sexual relations with lower class
women, whereas it was not socially acceptable for women of any class
to have sexual relations outside of marriage, or even admit to
enjoying sex. This meant that working class women were seduced and
then abandoned when they became pregnant, leaving them with the stigma
of illegitimate children and the problem of finding work. Meanwhile,
the higher class wives found themselves betrayed. While Boundary can
be interpreted as a novel about power and its abuses, it contains
several dimensions—philosophical, emotional, existential,
moral—that render it a consummate piece of social criticism. An
elegantly composed work of imaginative fiction, it does not preach or
offer solutions. Ursula Phillips's excellent translation will interest
readers of early twentieth century novels and scholars and students of
Polish literature, feminist studies, and European modernism.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781609092016
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Cornell University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter