''Eleonora Šomková'' (in Mácha's ''Diary'' as well as in literary books referred to as ''Lori'', 1817 – 1891) was the fiancée of

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czechs, Czech Romanticism, romantic poet. His poem ''Máj'' is among the most important poems in the history of Czech literature. Biography Mácha was born on 16 November 1810 ...

. The poet died two days before their intended wedding. Intimate details of their relationship were revealed by deciphering Mácha's '' Diary of 1835''.

Life

Eleonora Šomkova was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

as a sixth child to a family of a

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

who produced boxes for cartridges.Pavel Vašák: Šifrovaný deník Karla Hynka Máchy, Prague 2007, , pp.137–139 She met Karel Hynek Mácha as an actor in

Václav Kliment Klicpera Václav Kliment Klicpera (23 November 1792 – 15 September 1859) was a Czechs, Czech playwright and poet. He was a prolific author of his own plays and was one of the first presenters of Czech-language drama. He was especially influential in the ...

's drama ''Kytka'' in 1833. After the rehearsal in a private Czech theatre in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

she, Mácha, and Tyl with his fiancée went to café ''U Suchých'' in Celetná. Mácha and ''Lori'' started a love affair. Mácha helped her father in his workshop and made love to his lover very often, and according to his ''Diary'' he was very possessive and selfish in the act. She got pregnant and in October 1836 gave birth to Ludvík (who died nine months later). Mácha found a new job in

Litoměřice Litoměřice (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The town is the seat of the Roman C ...

and was preparing a house there. He died unexpectedly on 6 November 1836 just short of his 26th birthday. His funeral took place on the day of their intended wedding. In the following years Eleonora stayed in Prague and when her father died in 1848 she started a

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

workshop. She married a police officer called Sieh in 1849 and they moved to

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

together. They had no children. After his death she moved back to Prague where she died and was buried in

Vinohrady cemetery Vinohrady Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Vinohrady in Prague 10 which contains Strašnice Crematorium. It is the second largest cemetery in Prague and is registered in the state list of cultural monuments. The remains of two Czech presidents ...

Mácha's Secret diary

'' Diary of 1835'' reveals Mácha's possessiveness and jealousy in his relationship with Eleonora. It describes sexual acts in details.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somkova, Eleonora 1817 births 1891 deaths People from the Austrian Empire