Fenicjanie a sprawa polska : problemy reprezentacji w Faraonie Bolesława Prusa

Abstract

This article proposes to reflect on selected paradoxes of representation in Bolesław Prus’s novel Faraon [The Pharaoh]. First of all, the author discusses the validity of the notions of “truth” / “falsehood” in literary studies and proves that there is no reason for applying them to fiction. Then, he focuses on the depiction of the uncanny magician Beroes and his actions, which transgress realistic standards of probability. Finally, the author argues that the analogy between the novel’s fictional Phoenicians and 19th-century Polish Jews drawn by some researchers is unjustified both because of the novel’s narrative mode and the writer’s opinions expressed in his other texts.