Nad Niemnem is a Positivist novel written by Eliza Orzeszkowa in 1888 during the foreign Partitions of Poland. Its main purpose was to present the Polish society and its own internal dynamics as they were in mid–19th century, in reference to the Polish January Uprising against the Russian occupation. The novel first appeared in installments on the pages of Tygodnik Ilustrowany in 1887 and was published as a book in 1888. In 2014 it was translated into English as On the Niemen by Michelle Granas. First the author planned to limit the plot to a love story between Jan, a villager from the petty nobility, and Justyna, who comes from a wealthy landed gentry family. However, while writing, the background relating to customs started to develop which made Orzeszkowa give up the original title: Misalliance. Nad Niemnem is set in and around the city of Grodno after the 1863 January Uprising. At the time, the area had a considerable Polish population. The title means "Upon the Niemen" – the Niemen being a river now situated in modern Belarus and Lithuania. Main characters Bohatyrowicz family (Anzelm, Janek, Fabian): their lifestyle is elegant, not to say festive, very seldom coarse. Many proverbs, sayings, rhymes and aphorisms are present in their speech. The Bohatyrowicz family cultivates also the folk-songs which contrasts with the traditions of the Korczyński family which lives in the manor house, where folk-singing seems to be inappropriate. The other cultural heritage they cherish is a sense of social order regulated by the specific customs, gestures and the type of interaction with neighbours. They avoid formalism and stiffening of behaviour. Their religiousness is based on obeying the Ten Commandments rather than God-fearing practices. (Orzeszkowa did not put the emphasis on Polish Catholicism and deprived her fictitious village of a priest). Benedykt Korczyński: his characteristic feature is bitterness (caused by the adversities of fate, choices between evil and evil, fight for patrimony with the occupant etc.) and loneliness. He fenced himself off from the Bohatyrowiczes because they were the first to bring an action against him, that was the reason of their mutual dislike. The only person he can rely on is Marta. Witold Korczyński: an univocally positive hero; Witold symbolises young people who draw conclusions from the past and believe in the rebirth of the nation. At the same time he is a colourless and conventional character. In all the conflicts