Stereotyped images of the Poles in Roman Dmowski’s novel "Dziedzictwo" – a linguistic approach

The present article provides an analysis of stereotyped features of Polish society as it was presented in the novel "Dziedzictwo" [Heritage] written by Roman Dmowski. The book is a manifesto of an extreme right outlook of its author and, at the same time, a manifestation of beliefs and biases of his fellow countrymen as of the inter-war period. The findings of the analysis accurately reconstruct the stereotype of the Pole as opposed to the presented images of other nations, the Jews in particular. R. Dmowski characterizes his fellow countrymen as a community and, additionally, also sketches portraits and provides extensive profiles of some of its typical representatives. This biased and stereotyped presentation of the protagonists of the novel results to a large extent from the persuasive function of the text