Vampiric Femininity in Polish Modernist and Interwar Literature

Abstract

The article examines the motif of female vampirism in Polish modernist and interwar literature, with particular emphasis on the works of Stefan Grabiński and Władysław Reymont. The heroines endowed with vampiric traits are not depicted as traditional bloodthirsty monsters but rather as figures of the femme fatale, enriched with supernatural qualities and abilities, who, through their sexuality and otherness, come to represent a profound threat to men. They are distinguished by their beauty, demonic aura, and association with spaces marked by death, exoticism, or the fantastic.
These vampiric women do not kill directly; instead, they drain vital forces, induce illness, inflict psychological torment, or seduce men, thereby compelling them to transgress moral order. A recurring narrative pattern involves the male protagonist becoming entangled with the femme fatale, which forces him to choose between order and morality (embodied by a fiancée) and chaos and sensuality. Regardless of whether the man triumphs or succumbs to evil, the consequences are often tragic, with victory frequently achieved at the cost of his own death or the loss of a loved one.
In Grabiński’s works, Sara Braga drains her lovers’ life force during sexual encounters, Mafra transmits leprosy, while Kama Bronicz employs magic and occult practices. In Reymont’s Wampir, Daisy, the antagonist, seduces the protagonist Zenon and draws him into spiritualist and satanic practices.
The author argues that all these figures exemplify the modernist model of the femme fatale, embodying the era’s pervasive anxiety toward femininity, sexuality, and emancipation. Literature of this period underscores the patriarchal conviction that female independence or dominance must inevitably be punished or neutralized.