Zemsta (Revenge) is a Polish comedy by Aleksander Fredro, a Polish poet, playwright and author active during Polish Romanticism in the period of partitions. Zemsta belongs to the canon of Polish literature. It is a play in four acts, written in the octosyllabic verse mostly in the vernacular of Lesser Poland (Małopolska); filled with proverbs and paraphrased allusions. Background Real events inspired Fredro to write the play. In November 1828, Fredro married Zofia Jablonowska, whose dowry included the title to half of a castle located in Odrzykoń in the province of Galicia. In 1829, when looking through the archives of the castle, Fredro came across some old court records related to a dispute dating from the 17th century between the owners of the castle's two halves - Jan Skotnicki and Piotr Firlej. The conflict was long and relentless. It ended after more than thirty years with the marriage of Firlej's son to Zofia Skotnicka, an end similar to that adopted by Fredro in his play. The play premiered in Lviv on 17 February 1834, with Jan Nepomucen Nowakowski playing Cześnik and Witalis Smochowski playing Rejent. Plot Act I Two families live in the same castle - Cześnik Raptusiewicz and his niece Klara as well as Rejent Milczek and his son Wacław. Cześnik and Rejent consider each other enemies and do not get on. Cześnik, who administers Klara's lands until she comes of age, is eager to marry a wealthy wife. After a brief consideration of Klara, he settles on the widow Hanna, thinking that she is richer. Although generally of a forthright and brave characters, Cześnik is shy around women, and so sends Papkin, a show-off, to propose to Hanna (called Podstolina because she is the widow of a civil servant) and to be a go-between with Rejent for him. Podstolina herself is looking for a husband because her supposed wealth is only temporary - she is administering it for Klara, her kinswoman, and so agrees to marry Cześnik. Rejent has hired some bricklayers to fix a wall that segregates his part of the castle from the half of the castle in which Cześnik lives. Cześnik does not approve of this and sends Papkin to shoo them away, offering them however payment for their work being interrupted. Klara, niece of Cześnik, and Wacław, son of Rejent are in love and secretly meeting up. They despair of ever being allowed to