The article is an analysis of the well-known and popular novel by Jerzy Sosnowski – “Apocrypha of Aglaya”. Although the problem of the unusual complexity of the story and the mystery of the sense within it is usually raised, the author of the article believes that the work can be examined with simple analytical tools, without resorting to analytical instruments more complex than those used at school. Obviously “Apocrypha of Aglaya” draws on various traditions and conventions, but it is generally based on known plot patterns. However, it is original and valuable, it contains important statements about the modern condition of man, without ceasing to be a romance and a thriller. The article is methodologically structuralist and opposes postmodern research trends.
The article is devoted to a morally sensitive topic, created by situations which did not lead to a marriage, but ended up with a discrediting separation. It analyses socially accepted, although often false reasons for splitting up, treated as shameful and without approbation, frequently hidden under suggested excuses provided by savoir–vivre books. It also compares, in this case, the position of women and men, reflecting on the attempt to protect the reputation of a young lady with a fixed social convention. Particularly interesting seem to be the texts that refer to authentic biographical material, which were read by the contemporary readers as the violating moral taboos “novel with a key”. Novels of manners are the basis for reflection, such as created by Bolesław Prus ("The Doll", "The New Woman"), Maria Rodziewiczówna ("Między ustami a brzegiem pucharu", 'Kądziel"), Henryk Sienkiewicz ("Without Dogma", "Children of the Soil"), Sewer ("Bajecznie kolorowa"), and Kazimierz Przerwa–Tetmajer ("Anioł śmierci"), but also a message of memoirs of the age (Anna Skarbek–Sokołowska, Magdalena Samozwaniec, Tadeusz Boy–Żeleński, and others).
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