Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy
Nikodem Dyzma immigrates from the eastern part of Poland to the capital in the hope for possibilities to make a living. He is in need, very poor and forced to look for basic food and shelter. Yet, on a day when an unexpected invitation appears, his life changes dramatically.
Overview
Nikodem Dyzma immigrates from the eastern part of Poland to the capital in the hope for possibilities to make a living. He is in need, very poor and forced to look for basic food and shelter. Yet, on a day when an unexpected invitation appears, his life changes dramatically.
Episodes
1. Episode 1
Former postal clerk Nikodem Dyzma arrives in Warsaw looking for work. By chance, he comes across an invitation to a banquet. He decides to attend, hoping for a good meal. At the event, he gets into a quarrel with a man named Terkowski. Surprisingly, instead of being thrown out, he receives praise and becomes the star of the evening. Influential guests welcome him into their circle. He meets Colonel Wareda, Minister Jaszuński, and landowner Kunicki, who offers him a job managing his estate in Koborowo. Dyzma leaves his rented room on Krochmalna Street, says goodbye to a prostitute named Mańka, and sets off to begin a new life.
2. Episode 2
An advance payment from Kunicki allows Dyzma to dress properly. When he arrives in Koborowo, he impresses the ladies—Kunicki’s wife Nina and his daughter Kasia. However, when he meets Nina’s brother, the eccentric Żorż Ponimirski, Żorż sees through him. They strike a deal: Dyzma promises to help the legally incapacitated Żorż in exchange for education. Żorż also tells Dyzma about Kunicki—who he is and how he came to possess the Ponimirski estate.
3. Episode 3
Dyzma travels to Warsaw with the task of securing a timber allocation from Minister of Agriculture Jaszuński for Kunicki’s sawmills. He contacts Colonel Wareda, who helps him gain access to high society circles in the capital. Dyzma presents Kunicki’s idea for saving agriculture to the Deputy Minister as his own, earning a reputation as a “brilliant mind.” He also meets Countess Przełęska, Nina and Żorż’s aunt, who introduces him to aristocratic salons. Together with her lover, Zyzio Krzepicki, they begin plotting how to free Nina from the conman Kunicki.
