Hanna Krall: Childhood as an Unfinished Sentence

Abstract

This article examines the misunderstandings surrounding the reception of autobiographical themes in Hanna Krall’s writing, particularly within mainstream—and even elitist—currents of Polish literary criticism. Drawing on the categories articulated in Krall’s short story “Sublokatorka” [The Subtenant], the author argues that the misreadings expose an underlying social hierarchy in Poland, one that continues to divide citizens into symbolic “tenants” and “subtenants,” or first- and second-class citizens.