Lalka is an open literary work that becomes richer as the reader is growing older and
is, therefore, an “infinite” task for interpretation. My look at the masterpiece by Prus
as a text based on the model of Greek tragedy refers rather to tradition and is against
modernity. Repeated reading of the novel, searching for the writer’s autothematic
statements and the 19th century discussions about theatre and novel allowed me to
formulate a new research proposal — a palimpsest reading of Lalka.
The qualities of Greek tragedy include: the construction of the hero, the narrative,
the structure of the novel (episodes and „stasimons” of Rzecki) and the dramatized
style. These elements allowed Prus to give his story contemporary features and inscribe
it into a universal perspective
