Krystyna (Krzysia) Drohojowska (later Ketling of Elgin) is a fictional character in the novel''

Fire in the Steppe ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (titled in English as ''Pan Michael'', 1893, and ''Fire in the Steppe'', 1992; other titles used in English discourse include ''Colonel Wołodyjowski'', ''Sir Michael'' and ''Sir Wołodyjowski'') is a historical novel by t ...

'' by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

. She is a beautiful orphan who marries

Hassling-Ketling of Elgin Ketling (Hassling-Ketling of Elgin) is a fictional character in Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel ''Fire in the Steppe'', the third volume of his award-winning ''The Trilogy''. A Scotsman, Ketling moved to Poland where he became a Colonel of Artillery i ...

. In Jerzy Hoffman's 1969 film adaptation, Krzysia is portrayed by

Barbara Brylska Barbara Brylska is a Polish actress who gained critical acclaim in the 1960s and was featured in numerous films throughout the countries of the Warsaw Pact including the Soviet Union. She is noted especially for her role as Nadya in the 1976 Sov ...

Story

Krystyna is an orphan in the care of

stolnik Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". S ...

Makowiecki. In 1668 she arrives (together with

Barbara Jeziorkowska Barbara (Baśka) Jeziorkowska (later Wołodyjowska) is a fictional character of the novel '' Fire in the Steppe'' by Henryk Sienkiewicz. She is the main female protagonist, an orphan who marries Michał Wołodyjowski. In Jerzy Hoffman's 1969 f ...

) in Warsaw and meets

Michał Wołodyjowski Jerzy Michał Wołodyjowski () is a fictional Polish hero in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy: ''With Fire and Sword'', '' The Deluge'' and ''Pan Wołodyjowski''. Michał Wołodyjowski is partly based on the historic figure, Colonel , a Polish noble ...

. He falls in love with her and proposes. Krystyna accepts his proposal, even though her feelings for him are platonic. Soon she meets

, Wołodyjowski's friend. Krystyna and Ketling quickly fall in love, but since she is already engaged, they can't be together. Krzysia decides then to enter a convent, but Wołodyjowski gives up Krystyna to his friend, wanting them both to be happy. After they marry, Krystyna and Ketling live in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

. Krystyna gives birth to a son, and later becomes pregnant again, though book does not reveal what comes of her second pregnancy. In 1672 Ketling goes to

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

which was to be attacked by

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

. Krzysia accompanies him. After the city surrenders, Ketling refuses to surrender and commits suicide, together with his friend Wołodyjowski, by blowing themselves up in a gunpowder depot.

Description

Krystyna is a young and very beautiful woman. She is tall and slender. She's got black hair, big blue eyes and pale complexion. She is a shy and passive but honest person. When she realized her love for Ketling, she feels guilty. She prefers to become a nun rather than marry unloved Wołodyjowski. At the end of the novel, she shows up to be very brave, she decides not to leave Ketling even during the war with Turks.

References

* Characters in novels of the 19th century Fictional Polish people Literary characters introduced in 1888 Orphan characters in literature Sienkiewicz's Trilogy Fictional characters from the 17th century {{Novel-char-stub