Eliza Orzeszkowa

The Argonauts Eliza Orzeszkowa

In this classic family drama the father Aloysius Darvid, for whom the pursuit of wealth is all, alienates his entire household and beckons tragedy.

Although the antihero Aloysius is outwardly successful - he is a millionaire and part of his city's elite - his true situation at home could not be bleaker. His wife has just concluded an affair, his eldest daughter wants to marry a man against her father's wishes, and his son is living a carefree life unconcerned about life's trials.

At the root of the family's problems is Aloysius's single-minded focus upon the accumulation of wealth; a situation which is illustrated repeatedly. That his youngest daughter's desires to work and attain some sort of pride appears foolish to Aloysius - who dismisses her hope for a purpose in life through labor; the reason he works, is that his family need not.

The author is careful to distinguish Aloysius, whose greed is more to do with work itself; the very making of money. The money itself however is of little concern; indeed, members of his family spend it quite readily, and he shows little concern for this state of affairs. Rather than courageously deal with his family's deep emotional problems, Aloysius persists solely with his moneymaking habits, to the neglect of those he professes to love.

Eliza Orzeszkowa was a famous author and essayist from Poland who wrote most of her works in the late 19th and early 20th century. Topics such as cosmopolitanism and the Polish aristocracy fascinated Orzeszkowa, who proved gifted at writing clear and memorable portrayals of perceived flaws in the upper class mentality. In 1905, she was a joint nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.