Poland before human rights. Infrapolitics vs. nation-building in Władysław Reymont’s Chłopi

Abstract

The text explores the relationship between the nation-building function of Władysław Reymont’s Chłopi and the ways in which the infrapolitical activities are depicted in it. The theoretical framework is provided by the works of James C. Scott and Michał Rauszer. In this perspective, infrapolitics is understood as a “weapon of the weak”: actions that transcend politics as conceived by ruling groups, but which have political consequences nonetheless. The text offers a close reading of excerpts from Chłopi that represent the use of covert protocol, anonymous resistance and open rebellion. Particular attention is given to the battle of the forest. The article identifies and discusses two ways in which Reymont presents infrapolitical actions: their hostile appropriation for the myth of national unity and the nation-building invalidation of the peasants’ emancipatory actions. The text puts in a new light the question of whether Chłopi can be considered a peasant emancipatory epic or a national epic.