Matka Reymonta

Abstract

This article is devoted to Antonina Rejmentowa (née Kupczyńska), the mother of Władysław Stanisław Reymont. Combining genealogical and biographical approaches, it examines both her life and the traces of her influence in the literary works of the author of The Peasants. Drawing on Reymont’s personal documents, including correspondence, diary entries, memoirs, and autobiographical writings, the article reconstructs a portrait of Rejmentowa as a figure with whom the writer shared a particularly close and affectionate relationship, founded on mutual understanding and emotional support. Archival research provides new information concerning the genealogy of the Kupczyński (Kupiec, Kupczyk) family and enables the correction of several assumptions that have persisted in earlier scholarship. The analysis further suggests that Reymont’s mother played a crucial role in the writer’s emotional development, serving as a source of empathy, encouragement, and stability, in contrast to the emotional distance and severity often associated with his father. This maternal influence appears to be reflected in the idealized portrayals of mothers found throughout Reymont’s literary oeuvre. By combining genealogical inquiry with literary analysis, the article sheds new light on the familial contexts that shaped one of Poland’s most important writers.