Helena Malířová (née Nosková; 31 October 1877 – 17 February 1940) was a Czech writer, journalist and translator.

Biography

Malířová was born in to the family of an accountant and state official. Her sister was the actress

Růžena Nasková Růžena Nasková (28 November 1884 – 17 June 1960) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in 15 films between 1915 and 1953. Selected filmography * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * ''Auntie's Fantasies'' (1941) * ''Old Czech Legends ...

. In 1900 she began her career as a writer and met her future husband Jan Malíř whom she married in 1904; but their relationship did not last long because Malír died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1909. She volunteered as a nurse and reporter during the Serbian-Turkish War. She met her future partner, the writer

Ivan Olbracht Ivan Olbracht, born Kamil Zeman (6 January 1882, Semily, Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemia – 20 December 1952, Prague) was a Czech people, Czech writer, journalist and translator of German language, German prose. Biography The son of writer Antal S ...

, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and under his influence joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. In 1920 she took part in the Second Congress of the Communist International with Olbracht and

Hugo Sonnenschein Hugo Sonnenschein (pseudonym: ''Sonka, Hugo Sonka'') (May 25, 1889, Kyjov, – July 20, 1953, Mírov) was an Austrian writer from Bohemia. He contributed to the Czech-language Communist newspaper ''Průkopník svobody ''Průkopník svobody'' ('Pi ...

and was a founding member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Malířová, Olbracht and other well-known writers signed the 1929

Manifesto of the Seven The Manifesto of the Seven ( cs, Manifest sedmi) was a protest by seven artists against the Bolshevization of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), after its 5th Congress in 1929. The text was written on the initiative of Ivan OlbrachtLexico ...

in protest against the cultural policy of the new KSČ leadership. She along the other writers were expelled from the party. Malířová's work is characterized by her commitment to communism and the women's movement. Her theme is the struggle of women for self-realization and against social constraints. The literary high point of her work is the 1930s, when she begins to experiment with fragmentary and more complex literary forms. Malířová also wrote fairy tales and children's literature and translated the works of famous European writers such as

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Claude Farrère Claude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone (27 April 1876, in Lyon – 21 June 1957, in Paris), was a French Navy officer and writer. Many of his novels are based in exotic locations such as Istanbul, Saigon, or Nagasaki. One of ...

, B. Traven and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

. Malířová and Olbracht remained partners until 1935, when he left her for his future wife Jaroslav Kellerová. In 1936, she again traveled to several European countries and visited, together with a delegation of Czech intellectuals, Spain during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

to support the Republican cause. She died of heart disease in 1940 in Prague during the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. Her urn was placed in the columbarium in Prague-

Strašnice Strašnice is a Districts of Prague, cadastral district in Prague. It became part of Prague on 1 January 1922. It lies mostly in the municipal and administrative district of Prague 10 while a small part is in Prague 3. The district is b ...

. Later, her sister Růžena Nasková was also buried in the same grave.

Works

* ''Lidské srdce'' (1901) * ''Právo na štěstí'' (1908) * ''Malé příběhy'' (1910) * ''Víno'' (1912) * ''Popel'' (1914) * ''Rudé besídky'' * ''Požehnání'' (1920) * ''Povídky s dobrým koncem'' (1923) * ''Deset životů'' (1937) * ''Barva krve'' * ''Vítězství'' * ''Stříbrný racek a jiné povídky'' * ''Křehké květiny'' * ''Mariola'' * ''Dědictví'' * ''Nový rok'' * ''Pod kaštanem'' (1939) * ''Zápisky z nemoci''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malirova, Helena 1877 births 1940 deaths Writers from Prague Czech writers Czech journalists Journalists from Austria-Hungary Czech translators 20th-century Czech poets Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members Czech women's rights activists Czech children's writers Children's writers from Austria-Hungary Czech communist writers