Sidonie Josepha Grünwald-Zerkowitz (17 February 1852 – 12 June 1907) was an Austro-Hungarian writer, poet, translator, educator, and

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates ...

er.

Biography

Sidonie Zerkowitz was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Tobitschau,

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

(now in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

), the daughter of Jeanette () and Gerson Zerkowitz. An ancestor on her father's side was a banker to Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. She received her early education from her father, a physician, becoming well-versed in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, Hungarian,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. With her parents she moved to Holleschau, where she studied at a

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

. She later briefly attended boarding school 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 ...

. Zerkowitz thereupon came to Budapest, and before long passed the final state examination to teach

Hungarian history Hungary in its modern (post-1946) borders roughly corresponds to the Great Hungarian Plain (the Pannonian Basin). During the Iron Age, it was located at the crossroads between the cultural spheres of the Celtic tribes (such as the Scordisci, Boii ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

. Zerkowitz wrote lyrical poems, essays and

pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

articles in Hungarian for the daily and

belletristic is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

papers in Budapest, becoming well known in literary circles. Her pedagogical articles, which attracted the attention of Minister of Education

Ágoston Trefort Dr. Ágoston Trefort (pronunciation: a:gɔʃtɔn 'trɛfɔrt 7 February 1817 – 22 August 1888) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education from 1872 until his death. He was the President of the Hungarian Acad ...

, advocated for reforms of the higher state institutions for girls in Hungary. In November 1874, after teaching at a municipal school for a few years, she received from

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

a free scholarship at his theatrical school in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Her studies were interrupted the following month by her marriage to Prince Theodore Kolokotronis of Greece, grandson of

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...

and great-grandson of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

John Caradja. (She had previously turned down a

marriage proposal A marriage proposal is an event where one person in a relationship asks for the other's hand in marriage. If accepted, it marks the initiation of engagement, a mutual promise of later marriage. It often has a ritual quality. Traditional propo ...

from the poet Kálmán Tóth.) Joining the

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church ( el, Ελληνική Βυζαντινή Καθολική Εκκλησία, ''Ellinikí Vizantiní Katholikí Ekklisía;'') or the Greek Catholic Church is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic particular church of ...

, she accompanied her husband to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where both she and her husband were disowned by the latter's family. The marriage was an unhappy one, and she soon fled Greece to her parents in Holleschau. In order to earn a living, she gave up her plan to become an actress, left her newborn child in the care of her parents and took a job as a teacher in the village of Winau. In 1877, after securing a divorce, she re-converted to Judaism and married the wealthy Vienna merchant and widower Leopold Grünwald, with whom she bore five more children. In Vienna, she became a fashion designer and edited the French and German

fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion journ ...

''La Mode''. She lectured extensively on women's

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

in Vienna and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, and, after her husband's death in 1890, she took over the management of a Viennese

language school A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements fo ...

Work

When only thirteen years of age she published her first essays on literature, in German and Hungarian, in the newspapers of Budapest. In 1887 she anonymously published ''Die Lieder der Mormonin'' ('Songs of a Mormoness'), a

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voi ...

printed in the format of a 4-metre-long

Torah scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tor ...

. The work follows the sexual awakening of the protagonist as she enters a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

plural marriage. Though the book was banned in Austria as

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

, by 1900, at least seven editions had appeared in print. ''Das Gretchen von Heute'', a volume of erotic poetry, was subject to an obscenity trial soon after its release, and subsequently banned across the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

. In other publications, she took a stand against

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, and promoted

women's education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

and independence. Her ''Wie verheiratet man mitgiftlose Mädchen?'' (1905), for instance, argued for the creation of '

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

funds' akin to pension and sick funds. Other works by Grünwald-Zerkowitz included ''Zwanzig Gedichte von Koloman Tóth'' (Vienna, 1874), translated from Hungarian; ''Die Mode in der Frauenkleidung'' (Vienna, 1889); ''Das Gretchen von Heute'' (Zurich, 1890); ''Achmed's Ehe'' (1900); ''Doppel-Ehen'' (1900); ''Poetischer Hirt'' (1901); and ''Schattenseiten des Frauenstudiums'' (1901). She contributed many articles to newspapers; among those contributed to the Berlin ''Bühne und Welt'' included "Toilettenkünstlerinnen auf der Bühne", and critical essays on Sarah Bernhardt,

Wolter Wolter is a given name and surname of Low German and Low Franconian origin. It is equivalent to the English Walter, High German Walther, Dutch Wouter and French Gauthier. People with the name Wolter include: Given name * Wolter von Plettenberg (c. ...

, Dusé, Réjane, and

Jane Hading Jane Hading (25 November 1859 – 28 February 1941)(19 February 1941) ''The New York Times'' was a French actress. Her real name was Jeanne-Alfrédine Tréfouret.

, among others.

Partial bibliography

* * * * * * * *
Set to music
by Otto Wick. * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grünwald-Zerkowitz, Sidonie 1852 births 1907 deaths 19th-century Austrian Jews 19th-century Austrian poets 19th-century Austrian women writers 19th-century Czech poets 19th-century Czech women writers 19th-century Hungarian educators 19th-century Hungarian poets 19th-century Hungarian women writers 19th-century women educators Austro-Hungarian designers Austro-Hungarian educators Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Greece Austro-Hungarian Jews Austro-Hungarian poets Austro-Hungarian writers Education writers Fashion editors German-language poets German-language writers Hungarian women poets Hungarian-language writers Jewish educators Jewish fashion designers Jewish women writers Moravian Jews Mormonism and polygamy People from the Margraviate of Moravia People from Tovačov Pseudonymous women writers Translators from Hungarian Austrian women literary critics Hungarian women literary critics Austrian women essayists Hungarian women essayists Czech women essayists Austrian women fashion designers Czech women fashion designers Hungarian women fashion designers 19th-century pseudonymous writers