Od subiekta do bogatego kupca – językowa kreacja Stanisława Wokulskiego

The aim of the article is to present the linguistic creation of Stanisław Wokulski (the main character of Lalka (The Doll) – a novel written by Bolesław Prus) both as a shop assistant and a wealthy merchant. These two roles assigned by the author emerge mainly from Ignacy Rzecki’s diary, statements given by other characters and the narrator’s comments. As far as the linguistic layer is concerned, the creation of Wokulski as a shop assistant and a merchant who gains his fortune is achieved due to verbal and nominative forms, stylistic devices (similes, epithets) and set phrases. The diversity of techniques and linguistic devices used by Bolesław Prus in Wokulski’s creation infl uenced the realism of the character’s presentation.