Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki’s Short Stories

Abstract

The article is devoted to short stories by Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki, a writer know first of all for his critical studies and writings that have a character of memoirs.

Ten works were analyzed that come from the early stage of the work of the author of Samosęki. Short stories were edited in two collections (1911, 1921) and both were published under the same title – Galeria moich bliźnich (Gallery of my neighbors), although the contents of the volumes is not identical. Attention was paid to the great thematic range of the collection proving Siedlecki's versatility.

The plots of the works and the main protagonists were analyzed. These motifs and threads were pointed to that were characteristic for the writer and appear in his later books. They were, among others, problems like the military, the gentry manor and its inhabitants, the issue of bourgeoisie, as well as the motif of the artist and his vocation, or more broadly, the problem of the truth in literature.

The issue of time and space in Siedlecki's works was also analyzed. The whole of the issue was placed in a broader historico-literary context.