The Peasants · Chapter
The Bitter Quarrel explained
A violent confrontation erupts between Antek and his father Maciej Boryna over the marriage settlement and Yagna.
What happens
A violent confrontation erupts between Antek and his father Maciej Boryna over the marriage settlement and Yagna. The fight escalates into a physical brawl, leading to Antek being banished from the farm. Meanwhile, preparations for Boryna's wedding to Yagna proceed, deepening the family rift.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Injustice
The Boryna family's conflict over land and inheritance highlights the economic pressures and class tensions within the peasant community.
Gender Roles and Family
Yagna is objectified and blamed by both men and women, while Hanka's outspokenness is met with violence, illustrating rigid gender dynamics.
Community and Conflict
Neighbors intervene in the family brawl, and village gossip fuels the animosity, showing how community both mediates and exacerbates private disputes.
Characters to notice
- Antek Boryna
Engages in a violent fight with his father, is banished from the home, and struggles with jealousy and rage over Yagna's impending marriage.
- Maciej Boryna
Furious with Antek for insulting Yagna, he strikes his son and later orders him out of the house; he proceeds with wedding preparations.
- Hanka Boryna
Defends her family's rights, accuses Yagna of being a harlot, and is physically shaken by Boryna during the quarrel.
- Yagna Borynova
The subject of the family dispute; she is preparing to marry Boryna, causing resentment and accusations from Antek and Hanka.
- Kuba
Lies ill on his pallet, groaning from a lame leg, and is unable to help with farm duties; secretly washes bloodied rags.
- Yagustynka
Brings news of the wedding invitations and the lavish preparations, noting the tension in the household.
- Vitek
Brings water and litter, assists Antek with wall-building, and secretly washes Kuba's bloodied rags.
- Ambrose
Sent for to tend to Antek's head wound after the fight.
Key passages
“Springing up instantly, streaming with blood, he charged his father. They both rushed at each other like mad dogs, with a mutual clutch, driving and being driven backward and forward about the room, pushing and hurling one another against the bed, the great trunk, the walls, till their heads rang again.”
Antek, bleeding heavily, lunges at his father, and they grapple fiercely, crashing into furniture and walls in a brutal struggle.
Depicts the violent climax of the family feud over Yagna and inheritance.
“Get out of my home this instant! and let no trace of you remain! If you want war, if you will go to law, then do so; bring an action, and get back your property!”
Boryna orders Antek to leave immediately, challenging him to seek legal recourse if he wants his inheritance.
Shows Boryna's final break with his son and his determination to control the property.
“I have just come here from the organist's, where they need me for the washing. Matthias was there only just now, together with Yagna, to invite them to the wedding. They are coming. Yes, everyone to his people: the rich to the rich.”
Yagustynka reports that Boryna and Yagna have invited the organist and others to the wedding, emphasizing the social divide between rich and poor.
Highlights the class distinctions and the lavish scale of the wedding preparations.
