Femmes fatales polskiej wsi : Seksualizm a konwencje społeczno-literackie w powieściach Orzeszkowej, Reymonta i Dąbrowskiej

Femmes fatales of the Polish Village: Sexuality, Society and Literary Conventions in Orzeszkowa, Reymont and Dąbrowska The works of Eliza Orzeszkowa, Władysław Reymont, and Maria Dąbrowska set in Polish rural society at the end of the nineteenth century, contain a wealth of material relating to the image of woman and the ways in which the female world is created. This article analyses the sphere of female sexuality and how the female figures that violated accepted norms – the femmes fatales – are created. I argue that the depicted "degradation" of women in these works reflects existing cultural codes and conventions. It conforms above all to views long established in the social consciousness – and dictated by the Catholic Church – concerning sexuality, sexual feelings and especially female physiology. These views were particularly dominant in the small close-knit communities where these novels and short stories are set