Representatives of the Legal Profession in the Works of Bolesław Prus

Abstract

The law, as an element that plays a significant role in society, is frequently featured in positivist literature. In the Polish context, literary characters working in professions related to the administration of justice often faced moral dilemmas arising from operating within the legal frameworks of the partitioning powers. This article attempts to answer the question of how Bolesław Prus portrayed characters in the legal profession, such as judges, lawyers, and prosecutors. The works selected for analysis are Lalka, Nawrócony and Katarynka, which, although well known, have not yet been analyzed using the findings of the “law and literature” school of thought. The characters of legal professionals were analyzed in terms of their status, manner of communication, and function in society, as well as the satirical approach by which Prus criticized the weaknesses of members of the legal profession. The article primarily draws on a literary studies perspective, while taking historical context into account. The author demonstrates that members of the legal profession in Bolesław Prus’s prose do not merely serve as a plot backdrop but fulfill a significant function, representing the social system of the time, along with its ambitions, hypocrisy, and ethical dilemmas.