Epistolarny autoportret męża i ojca w listach familijnych Adolfa Dygasińskiego

Abstract

The author of the article analyses set phrases that are motivated by the reality of the handicraft work. The analysis proves that Polish proverbs and set phrases depict work as an activity that is a sufficient and dependable source of income, evaluated on the basis of its effects. They also negatively depict people who perform their duties in a sloppy manner.
The analysis aims at reconstructing the linguistic image of the husband and father commemorated in the published family correspondence from the end of the nineteenth century. It is based on 277 letters sent by the writer Adolf Dygasiński, who acted as a tutor at the estates, to his wife Natalia and daughter Zofia who were settled in Warsaw. The article corresponds to H. Markiewicz’s essay devoted to methods of creating figures in literary texts; however it mainly stems from the research on the linguistic image of the world. It focuses on the lexical and phraseological layer of the studied texts, taking into account also the pragmatic aspect of the statements, especially the shape of the terminal forms of the opening and closing the letters which are typical for the structure of the genre. The juxtaposition demonstrates the writer’s fundamental traits which are in accordance with the stereotype of the husband preserved in the Polish language (especially responsibility, care, uncompromising nature) and qualities of the personality assigned according to the social role of the father (the role of the practical guide, adviser and defender). The features which go beyond the linguistic-cultural model of the father (understanding, mildness, protectiveness, parental warmth) should be linked to Dygasiński’s family circumstances. After his wife’s death, Dygasiński surrounded his growing-up daughter with special care, repeatedly declaring his total devotion to her.