Character Relationship Map: Venice

Characters

• Marek (played by Marcin Walewski) — protagonist

  A boy who dreams of traveling to Venice, a city his family visits every year, and knows the names of its streets, squares, and landmarks by heart. Instead of going there, he is taken by his parents to...

• Joanna - Marek's mother (played by Magdalena Cielecka) — supporting

  Joanna is Marek's mother. She and her husband take Marek to spend the summer at her sister Weronika's estate in Zaleszczyki instead of letting him visit Venice. After war breaks out, the family gather...

• Roman - Marek's father (played by Mariusz Bonaszewski) — supporting

  Roman is Marek's father. He joins Joanna in taking their son to spend the summer with Weronika rather than traveling to Venice. The war begins soon afterward, and the men leave for the front while the...

• Weronika - Joannas sister (played by Grażyna Błęcka-Kolska) — supporting

  Weronika is Joanna's sister and Marek's aunt. She struggles to maintain her small palace in Zaleszczyki, where Marek is sent for the summer instead of going to Venice. After the war begins, the wider...

• Barbara - Joannas sister (played by Agnieszka Grochowska) — supporting

  Barbara is Joanna's sister and part of the extended family that gathers at Weronika's estate after war breaks out. The plot summary says that mainly women arrive there while the men go to the front, b...

• Klaudyna - Joannas sister (played by Julia Kijowska) — supporting

  Klaudyna is identified in the cast information as Joanna's sister. The plot summary says that the wider family gathers at Weronika's estate after war breaks out, but it does not specifically describe...

• Wiktor - Marek's brother (played by Filip Piotrowicz) — supporting

  Wiktor is Marek's brother. The plot summary describes Marek's summer at his aunt Weronika's estate and the children's response to the outbreak of war, but it does not identify Wiktor's individual acti...

• Karolina - Klaudyna's daughter (played by Julia Chatys) — supporting

  Karolina is Klaudyna's daughter and part of the family circle associated with the estate. After war breaks out, children try to occupy themselves there, building a small Venice in the flooded cellar....

• Zuzia (played by Hanna Kuzminska) — supporting
• Servant Frosia (played by Weronika Asińska) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Joanna - Marek's mother → Roman - Marek's father (Family Spouses) — Joanna and Roman act together as Marek's parents before the war divides the family.

  The character profiles identify Joanna as Marek's mother and Roman as Marek's father, and the plot describes them jointly taking Marek to Weronika's e...

• Klaudyna - Joannas sister → Karolina - Klaudyna's daughter (Family Mother And Daughter) — Karolina is part of the younger generation gathered around the estate after war breaks out.

  The cast identifies Karolina as Klaudyna's daughter.

• Marek → Wiktor - Marek's brother (Family Brothers) — Wiktor belongs to Marek's immediate family during the wartime family gathering.

  The cast identifies Wiktor as Marek's brother.

• Joanna - Marek's mother → Klaudyna - Joannas sister (Family Sisters) — Klaudyna is part of Joanna's wider family circle associated with the estate.

  Klaudyna is identified in the cast and character profile as Joanna's sister.

• Joanna - Marek's mother → Barbara - Joannas sister (Family Sisters) — Barbara belongs to the extended family that gathers after the war begins.

  Barbara is identified in the cast and character profile as Joanna's sister.

• Joanna - Marek's mother → Weronika - Joannas sister (Family Sisters) — Their family connection enables Marek's relocation to the estate during the disrupted summer.

  The cast identifies Weronika as Joanna's sister, while the plot states that Joanna's family sends Marek to Weronika's estate.

• Marek → Weronika - Joannas sister (Family Nephew And Aunt) — Weronika's struggling estate becomes Marek's unexpected destination and the setting for his substitute Venice.

  Weronika is identified as Marek's aunt, and Marek is sent to spend the summer at her estate.

• Marek → Roman - Marek's father (Family Father And Son) — Roman participates in the family decision that redirects Marek's summer from Venice to Zaleszczyki.

  The cast identifies Roman as Marek's father, and the plot states that Marek's parents take him to Weronika's estate.

• Marek → Joanna - Marek's mother (Family Mother And Son) — Joanna makes the summer decision that separates Marek from his hoped-for trip to Venice.

  The cast identifies Joanna as Marek's mother, and the plot states that she takes him to Weronika's estate instead of Venice.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Marek → Servant Frosia (Social Household Connection) — Frosia belongs to the household environment surrounding Marek at Weronika's estate.

  Frosia is identified as a servant associated with the estate where Marek spends the summer.

• Marek → Zuzia (Social Children Facing Wartime Disruption) — Zuzia is part of the children's social environment during the disrupted stay.

  Zuzia is listed among the supporting characters, while the plot describes the children organizing their time and building a small Venice after war bre...

• Marek → Karolina - Klaudyna's daughter (Social Children Facing Wartime Disruption) — They belong to the children's shared attempt to create an imaginative refuge at the estate.

  The plot states that the children try to organize their time after the war begins and build a small Venice in the flooded cellar; Marek and Karolina a...

Story Analysis

A boy's unrealized journey becomes an imaginative refuge as war transforms a family summer.

Plot Progression

1. The Venice That Never Comes — Marek dreams of seeing Venice, a place his family visits every year. His parents instead take him to his aunt Weronika's estate in Zaleszczyki.
2. A Palace Under Strain — Marek arrives at Weronika's difficult summer residence. The estate's fragile condition contrasts with the grand Venice he has imagined.
3. War Divides the Household — War breaks out and the wider family gathers at the estate. The men leave for the front, leaving mainly women and children behind.
4. The Cellar Becomes Venice — The children search for a way to occupy themselves while water floods the cellar. They transform the flooded space into a small Venice.
5. An Imagined Refuge — The miniature city stands against the reality of war and family separation. Marek's unrealized journey is reimagined through the children's creation.