„Homeless People” by Stefan Żeromski as a Prefiguration of a Contemporary Ecological Novel

Abstract

This article attempts to read Żeromski's novel as a prefiguration of a contemporary ecological novel. The green reading of the writer's work redirects readers' attention towards non-human forms of life, introducing alternative optics for describing reality. The story of Tomasz Judym is tangled with the history of the natural world. While wandering around Paris, Warsaw, Cisy and Zagłębie, the protagonist notices the symptoms which prove the progressive degradation of the natural environment. As one of the few protagonists, he sees the destructive impact of industry on the natural environment. Judym is abandoning the anthropocentric perspective in favour of the biocentric one, making him more sensitive to the suffering of others, understood here as non-human inhabitants of the Earth. Nature is a self-regulating living organism, a powerful element whose contemplation can both delight and frighten. Ludzie bezdomni anticipates contemporary ecological thinking, which calls for rational use of earthly goods.