Służąca w bramie. Przypadek Kaśki O.

Abstract

The article presents similarities between the nature of a gate as an element of the urban space and the life of the maid at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The gate appears as a portal that connects two distinct worlds: the safe and bright world of the home and the dark and dangerous world of the street. Depending on the point of view, the gate can be a shelter or a place of fall. It is also an egalitarian space of contact for domestic maids and the residents of the building. As a sociocultural place, the gate affected the life of the maid and often determined her fate. The analysis is based on excerpts from the novel Kaśka Kariatyda by Gabriela Zapolska.