# Endnotes explained — The Peasants

> Chapter companion for The Peasants by Władysław Reymont.

## What happens

This chapter provides explanatory endnotes for the novel, detailing various Polish customs, terms, and historical references such as Easter traditions, peasant life, and social structures.

## Themes in this chapter

### Tradition and Religion

The endnotes explain the Christianized survival of pagan spring festivals in Easter customs, and the religious blessing of homes and food.

### Social Class and Injustice

The notes describe the division between landowning gospodarze and impoverished komorniki, as well as the suppression of Polish language by the Russian government.

## Key lines

> various meats and pastry solemnly blessed in each house by a priest on Holy Saturday, and eaten at Eastertide, together with the consecrated Easter eggs; probably a Christianized survival of some spring festival among the heathen Slavs.

On Holy Saturday, a priest blesses meats and pastries in each home, which are then eaten at Easter along with consecrated eggs; this is likely a Christian adaptation of an ancient Slavic spring festival.

_Explains the origin of Easter food blessing._

> Dyngus , called also Smigus ; a popular festival, with a great deal of horseplay, drenchings and even dousings, on Easter Monday; believed to be a custom surviving from the time when the Poles (in the tenth century) embraced Christianity and were baptized en masse.

Dyngus, also known as Smigus, is a lively Easter Monday festival involving pranks and drenching with water, thought to originate from the mass baptism of Poles in the 10th century.

_Describes the Dyngus festival and its supposed origin._

> A Russian Government school, that is.

This refers to a school run by the Russian government.

_Clarifies the type of school mentioned._

> The “Sobotki” correspond to the St. John’s Eve fires.

The Sobotki are equivalent to the bonfires lit on St. John's Eve.

_Identifies the Sobotki tradition._

> The representative of the Russian Government.

This person is the official representative of the Russian government.

_Defines a role in the context of Russian rule._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/endnotes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_peasants_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters