The Linguistic Image of the Pilgrim in the Novel “Bieguni” by Olga Tokarczuk

The article provides a contextual analysis of the word pielgrzym ‘pilgrim’ in Olga Tokarczuk’s novel Bieguni (English edition: Flights). The results indicate that, in the novel, this word is used in the following meanings: ‘pilgrim as the purpose of pilgrimage, pilgrim-exhibit of anatomical museums’; ‘pilgrim as a visitor to anatomical museums’; pilgrim as a carrier of certain traits’; ‘pilgrim as a person making a journey to holy (or dream) places’. Most often, the word pielgrzym stands for ‘pilgrim as the purpose of pilgrimage, pilgrim-exhibit of anatomical museums’. In the novel, we can also notice the expressive connection of the word pielgrzym with the word bieguni ‘runners’: as observed, their common semantic feature here is movement in order to reach a holy place or achieve holiness. The word bieguni in the novel acquires a new meaning. It is a category of modern people who are in a state of permanent travel. The word pielgrzym clarifies, specifies the purpose of this journey.