Marie Majerová (1 February 1882 – 16 January 1967) was a

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 *Czech (surnam ...

writer and translator.

Biography

The daughter of working-class parents, she was born in

Úvaly Úvaly () is a town in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,500 inhabitants. Etymology The name means 'valleys' in Czech. It was originally used in the singular, but was gradually changed to th ...

and grew up in

Kladno Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative division Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...

. When she was sixteen, she began working as a servant in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. She went on to complete her education 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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. She was a member of the

Czechoslovak Communist Party The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comi ...

from its inception and was also involved in the feminist movement. In 1907, she published a collection of stories ''Povídky z pekla a jiné'' (Stories from Hell and other stories) and a novel ''Panenství'' (Maidenhood). Her writing concerns itself with the oppression of the working class and of women. She also wrote literature for children. Majerová was married twice: first to the journalist Josef Stivín and then to the graphic artist Slavoboj Tusar. Hrob K

She died in Prague at the age of 84. After cremation, her remains were buried at the

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

National Monument at Vítkov. In 1990, her ashes were moved to

Olšany Cemetery Olšany Cemeteries (, ) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable Art Nouveau monuments. History The Olšany Cemeteries w ...

, together with those of about 20 other communist leaders which had also originally been placed in the Jan Žižka National Monument.

Works

The 1937 film ''

Virginity Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...

'', directed by

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. Biography and career Vávra attended universities in Brno and Prague, where he studied architecture. During 1929–30, while still a stud ...

, was based on her novel ''Panenství''. Her novel ''Siréna'' was the basis for the screenplay for the 1947 film of the same name with English title '' The Strike'', directed by

Karel Steklý Karel Steklý (9 October 1903 – 5 July 1987) was a Czech film director. He is most famous for his film '' Siréna'' (1947) for which he won the Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Fest ...

. The 1947 film received a Golden Lion at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. Czech-Canadian author

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

has said that his character Marie Burdychova in ''The Miracle Game'' was physically based on Marie Majerová.

Selected works

Source: * ''Náměstí republiky'' (Republic Square). novel (1914) * ''Nejkrásnější svět'' (The Most Beautiful of Worlds), novel (1920) * ''Mučenky'' (Passionflowers), short stories (1924) * ''Přehrada'' (The Dam), novel (1932) * ''Siréna'' (The Siren), novel (1935), translated in 1953 * ''Havířská balada'' (Ballad of a Miner) (1938) * ''Spisy'', collected works in 19 volumes (1962)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Majerova, Marie 1882 births 1967 deaths People from Úvaly People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians Czech communists Czech feminists Czech novelists Czech women novelists Czech women short story writers Czech short story writers Communist writers Socialist feminists 20th-century Czech novelists 20th-century women writers 20th-century short story writers Burials at Olšany Cemetery