The toxic space of Łódź and Chicago. Władysław Stanisław Reymont’s Promised Land in dialogue with Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle

Abstract

This article is devoted to The Promised Land (1899) by Władysław Stanisław Reymont and The Jungle (1906) by Upton Sinclair. The action of both works takes place in industrial metropolises. In the case of the Polish writer, it is Łódź, where the textile industry is developing. In the case of the American writer, it is Chicago, or more precisely the Packingtown district dominated by the meat industry. In the analysis of both novels, I refer to Lawrence Buell’s discourse of toxicity, discussing the impact of industry on the environment and human health. This article is divided into 5 parts. In the first, I discuss the genesis of both novels, in the second I characterize the images of dying nature, and in the third I am interested in the impact of industry on human health. In the last two parts, my attention is focused on discussing the phenomenon of increased consumption, which resulted in excessive waste production. I also draw attention to the phenomenon of recycling, which was common in the 19th century, but was not associated with the ethical issue of caring for the natural environment. Recycling resulted from the constant desire for profit. The Promised Land and The Jungle record the devastation of local ecosystems and serve as a warning that continuous development at the expense of nature is not possible.