Futurological vision of Warsaw in Widziadła by Bolesław Prus and in W XX wieku by Włodzimierz Zagórski

Abstract

This article analyses futurological visions of Warsaw presented in Widziadła, a short story written by Bołeslaw Prus, and in W XX wieku, a novel written by Włodzimierz Zagórski. Prus as a creator of a futuristic utopia presents Warsaw as a “fantastic town”; it is a modern ecological city in which human and nature live in harmony. Different vision of the capital of Poland presents Zagórski in the novel W XX wieku. Warsaw in the year 1993 recalls a futuristic city where the most important role play modern technological inventions. Zagórski’s vision concerns the readers because it contains elements typical for totalitarian system (for example, some organisations that
control townspeople’s thoughts and deeds).