LICENTIOUS WOKULSKI. ON THE EROTIC ALLUSIONS IN BOLESLAW PRUS' 'THE DOLL' (Rozpustny Wokulski. O aluzjach erotycznych w 'Lalce' Boleslawa Prusa)

The article reflects upon the character of the complex relations of the discourses of modernity with the central thread of 'The Doll', i.e. Stanislaw Wokulski's affection for Izabella Lecka. The author of the paper shows the ostensible inconsistencies and concealments of the work written in 1890 which refer, above all, to sexual issues: the wealthy merchant's Parisian 'debauchery', and his attitude to a Warsaw prostitute, and to Kazimiera Wasowska. In his polemics with the existing readings of 'The Doll', the author proves an analogy between the way Wokulski's mind is presented and Michael Foucault's theory of modern subject. Stress is also put on the process of Wokulski's 'liberation' from the limits imposed by sexual discourses: his attitude to prostitution, the idea of marriage, moral norms, etc.