“The Morality of Mrs. Dulska” by Gabriela Zapolska – a story about a hypocritical, mean and selfish townswoman – is one of the most frequently staged Polish plays, which had 210 productions since its premiere in 1906. Zapolska’s drama is read on Saturday as part of the National Reading under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland.
“The Morality of Mrs. Dulska” was created over a dozen days at the turn of October and November 1906. “Today, in severe pain, I finished Dulska. (…) Maybe it will be something perfect, or maybe worth nothing,” Zapolska wrote in a letter to her husband. She ended the drama in a hurry – mainly in bed, because she was teased by a cough – trying to meet the deadline set for November 15 by Ludwik Heller, the new director of the Municipal Theater in Lviv.
The play tells a story taking place in a middle-class house of the beginning of the 20th century. Young Zbyszko Dulski seduces the servant Hanka, and although mother, the owner of the tenement house, knows about their romance, she is surprised by Zbyszek’s reaction to Hanka’s pregnancy – the intention to get married. The clever cousin Juliasiewiczowa gets the idea of marriage out of Zbyszko’s head, explaining the uncomfortable consequences of such a decision, that is the need to earn money for a family. Hanka is dismissed with a certain amount of money, and the most disappointed is Zbyszek’s younger sister – Mela, who believes in values such as love and selflessness. The title of the play comes from the words of the main character: “First of all, I understand morality”. The action of the drama takes place in Lviv.