“What to say to people?” – letters by Helena Wołodkowiczowa as a graphic and verbal creation

Abstract

The article presents the correspondence by Helena Wołodkowiczowa to Jadwiga Janczewska. The collection of letters constitutes a valuable apposition to the correspondence by Henryk Sienkiewicz and supplementation of knowledge on the history of the writer’s relationship with Maria Romanowiczówna (adopted daughter of the Wołodkowicz family). The writer’s second wife, as well as the stormy history of this short relationship continues to be an interesting topic for biographers and scholars of Sienkiewicz’s literary legacy. The article’s author sheds some light on the history of relationship between Henryk and Maria. The main part of the article concerns the verbal creation highlighted in the letters, as well as he interesting graph, which in some way reflects the character of Helena Wołodkowiczowa. What was also demonstrated was the value of this type of correspondence – written and addressed to the people from the circles relevant to getting to know a writer’s full dossier.