America

America appears not as a visited place but as a desperate possibility: a destination proposed to help Antek Boryna avoid a long prison sentence. For Hanka Borynowa, the prospect carries a cost beyond departure itself, because escape would mean leaving the village and the land that anchor her life.

America as an Escape Plan

A man advising Hanka presents a sequence of steps: raise bail so Antek can be released before his hearing, then arrange for him to flee. He claims the squire had recommended flight, warning that Antek otherwise faced at least ten years in prison. America is offered as the possible destination, where the adviser says people he knew had written home and sent money back, and had found rights and prosperity. These claims make migration sound both practicable and promising, but they remain part of the adviser’s pitch rather than a confirmed account of Antek’s prospects.

The plan extends beyond Antek’s immediate departure. Hanka might follow later, after attention had shifted elsewhere. Until then, the adviser proposes that she obtain money from Grzela’s patrimony when he returned from the army, or find a buyer for the property. His insistence on secrecy reflects the plan’s dependence on keeping the gendarmes unaware; he warns that disclosure could prevent Antek’s release even for a thousand.

Hanka’s Response and the Meaning of Departure

The proposal unsettles Hanka. She questions where the money could come from, while the adviser presses her to trust his account and consult the priest. After he leaves quietly, she remains awake, repeatedly dwelling on the thought of running away from the village, the land, and everything familiar. The narrative presents America through this imagined rupture: it offers a possible escape from imprisonment, but only at the price of separation from home and land.

The quiet night sharpens that conflict. Witek sits by the wall as if keeping watch over Hanka; later, Łapa howls in the yard as the night’s stillness breaks. These details frame her fear without resolving the choice. America remains a proposed refuge, not a journey undertaken, and the episode leaves Hanka facing both the danger Antek may face in prison and the loss implied by flight.