In studying contemporary transformations of social relations and family life, researchers and social theorists have been focused on the increased diversity of forms of bonding, coupling and other interpersonal connections. When single people are discussed, either it is to emphasize the disintegration of their ties and the crisis of the family, or their single life is considered as an identity choice. The aim of this text is to look at the experience of singleness not by choice among contemporary corporate employees in Poland and to try to set this experience against the background of a broader social reality, especially the reality of professional work. The text also examines the relationship between relational forms (including being single) and the social system in late capitalism. The experiences of people who are not single by choice are discussed and contrasting variants for people whose single situation is associated with low interpersonal skills and for those with an interactional proficiency are distinguished. In the conclusion, the authors are looking for patterns of connection between being unwillingly single and operating on the late capitalist labour market.

This article examines the autobiographical quotations of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra that are corroborated directly and indirectly by both old and newly discovered documents which contain references to the writer and his relatives. It is worth bearing in mind that some of that evidence was for long ignored, or allowed to fade into oblivion, or, sometimes, misinterpreted. Even some 20th-century scholars acclaimed for their richly documented biographies of the author of Don Quixote, appear not to have taken account of that resource, while insisting that there are still many unsolved enigmas in Cervantes' life. Undoubtedly, his life, like that of any genius, continues to exert an irresistible fascination even though its exploration is fraught with countless hazards, not least because of the complex interrelationships between his own texts and all kinds of documentary evidence supplied by historical research. The latter, the article claims, constitutes not only an invaluable treasure for any pursuit of the truth about Cervantes but also a solid base for a comprehensive account of his life and work.