# Hanka Boryna — The Peasants character guide > Hanka Boryna in The Peasants by Władysław Reymont. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Hanka **First appearance:** 0003-i ## Snapshot Antek's wife, a stoic and tireless farmwoman who has survived hunger, betrayal, and humiliation and still rises before dawn to pray over the fields. ## Who they are Hanka moves through her morning rounds—barn, shed, wheat-fields—praying with her lips while her mind churns over Antek's faithlessness and the family's precarious hold on Boryna's land. She has endured six months that would break many, and she clings to the hope that Antek will return to himself and the farm will be theirs. Her quiet endurance and sharp-eyed management of the household make her the moral counterweight to the passions swirling around her. ## Relationships ### [Antek Boryna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/antek_boryna) _family_ Husband and wife, but their marriage is strained by Antek's affair with Yagna and Hanka's resentment. ### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova) _rivalry_ Bitter rivals and enemies, as Hanka sees Yagna as the homewrecker who stole her husband. ### [Yuzka Boryna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yuzka_boryna) _family_ Sisters-in-law who share a bond of mutual support and sympathy against Yagna's disruptive presence. ### [Roch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/roch) _friendship_ Hanka finds a kind and loyal friend in Roch, who offers her comfort and advice. ### [Vitek](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/vitek) _friendship_ Hanka treats Vitek with kindness and maternal care, as he is a simple-minded orphan boy. ### [Antek Boryna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/antek_boryna) _family_ Husband and wife, but their marriage is strained by Antek's affair with Yagna and Hanka's resentment. ### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova) _rivalry_ Bitter rivals and enemies, as Hanka sees Yagna as the homewrecker who stole her husband. ### [Antek Boryna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/antek_boryna) _family_ Husband and wife, but their marriage is strained by Antek's affair with Yagna and Hanka's resentment. ### [Yuzka Boryna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yuzka_boryna) _family_ Sisters-in-law who share a bond of mutual support and sympathy against Yagna's disruptive presence. ### [Roch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/roch) _friendship_ Hanka finds a kind and loyal friend in Roch, who offers her comfort and advice. ### [Vitek](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/vitek) _friendship_ Hanka treats Vitek with kindness and maternal care, as he is a simple-minded orphan boy. ### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova) _rivalry_ Bitter rivals and enemies, as Hanka sees Yagna as the homewrecker who stole her husband. ## In the story ### [The Peasants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/the-peasants) Antek's wife, caught in the family strife. ### [Autumn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/autumn) Hanka is burdened by her family's poverty and her husband Antek's frustration, struggling to maintain the household. ### [Autumn in Lipka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/i) Working in the potato field, she speaks respectfully with the priest and tries to steer conversation away from gossip. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/vii) Timidly offers meat to Roch and prepares a corner for him to sleep. ### [The Bitter Quarrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/x) Defends her family's rights, accuses Yagna of being a harlot, and is physically shaken by Boryna during the quarrel. ### [Winter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/winter) Hanka is burdened by her role as a wife and mother, struggling to maintain the household during the harsh winter. ### [Winter's Onset and Antek's Flight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/i) Hanka, Antek's wife, is left in despair as Antek departs, struggling with poverty and the emotional weight of their expulsion from Boryna's home. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/ii) Desperate for work and money, she visits Yankel and the miller, learns of Antek's infidelity, secures spinning work, and vows to remain in the village. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/iii) Brings Antek his dinner and discusses household matters, including the organist's offer and their livestock. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/ix) Hanka leads the group to gather firewood, enduring the storm and reflecting on her suffering due to Antek's betrayal and poverty. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/xii) Hanka receives sympathy and gifts from the villagers, who pity her for her husband Antek's actions. ### [Chapter XIII: The Spring of Despair and Defiance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/xiii) Gains favor with Boryna, who confides in her; her children often stay with their grandfather. ### [Spring](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/spring) Hanka is seen preparing for Easter, embodying the domestic and religious rhythms of the season. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/ii) Manages the household and farm duties, cares for her father-in-law Boryna, and receives news about her husband Antek from Roch. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/iii) Visits her father and sister, buys Easter supplies, prepares the pig-killing, and schemes to find Boryna's money. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/iv) Hanka finishes whitewashing and goes to church, then returns to observe Yagna's egg decorating with ironic remarks. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/v) Sits apart during Roch's storytelling, returns from visiting Antek in prison, and is deeply distressed by his cold treatment. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/vi) Hosts the supper for the Rzepki men, manages household, and worries about Antek's return. ### [The Return of the Men](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/vii) Hanka is torn between joy and terror at the news of Antek's return; she inspects the farm and feels weak with conflicting emotions. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/viii) Expresses indifference to Yagna's affair, focusing instead on her own troubles regarding Antek's uncertain trial and legal costs. ### [The Stirring Against the Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/x) Discusses the priest's sermon with Matthew, feels mortified by the slur on her family. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/xi) Anxiously waits for Antek's return, tending to the household and Boryna, while confiding her hopes to the darkness and cattle. ### [Summer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/summer) Hanka, Antek's wife, endures the summer's hardships with quiet resilience, caring for her children and bearing the shame of her husband's infidelity. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/i) Hanka is a daughter-in-law of Boryna, actively involved in funeral preparations and arrangements with the priest, showing mercy towards Yagna. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/ii) Suckles her children in the porch, converses with the dziad, and gives twenty kopeks to Yanek. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/iii) Hanka defends Antek's inheritance, confronts Yagna, and forces her out of the house, but is troubled by Dominikova's curse and Antek's potential reaction. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/iv) Takes charge of the household at dawn, waking the family, assigning chores, and managing the komorniki in the cabbage-field. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/vii) Manages the household and milks cows; approves giving the sow to Nastka; forbids Yuzka from attending Nastka's wedding. ### [The Search for Roch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/x) Weeps at the danger, helps conceal Roch, and later bids him farewell. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/xi) Washes linen for a pilgrimage to Chenstohova, discusses the news with Klembova and Yagustynka. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/hanka_boryna - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters