Małżeństwo, jak pogoda, nie dopisało : o "Dziewczynie z zapałkami" Anny Janko

Abstract

The article is a proposition of reading a debut novel Dziewczyna z zapałkami by Anna Janko, an acclaimed poet. A realistic plot about a toxic marriage traces the presence of universal fable structure which makes it a novel about late maturation, building identity, searching freedom and happiness. To read the meaning of Dziewczyna z zapałkami it is important to refer to Andersen’s fable exposing character’s anonymity, a metaphoricalised fate as a lonely wandering in the freezing and dark night, a trap of immaturity and self‑destruction, and the symbolism of fire with an ambivalent interpretation which determines different endings of the story of Andersen’s and Janko’s characters. A surface of a self biographic narration covers faith in a therapeutic power of a fable‑like novel, the correct understanding of which becomes a chance of an identity and life success of the character from Anna Janko’s novel.