Narcyza Żmichowska (

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, 4 March 1819 – 24 December 1876, Warsaw), also known under her popular

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Gabryella, was a Polish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

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. She is considered a precursor of feminism in Poland.

Life

Żmichowska became

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

for the noble House of Zamoyski in 1838. She went with her employer to Paris, where she reunited with her brother Erazm, Polish revolutionary, exiled from the

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after the anti-Tsarist

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

crushed by the imperial army. Her brother's political and social views greatly influenced Narcyza. On his advice, she enrolled at the

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, and became one of the first women at the

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ever. Her stay in France completely changed Żmichowska. She began to publicly express her radicalized views about women; dubbed by her bourgeois surroundings as "an excentric". She smoked cigars, which was prohibited to women. Her perfect knowledge of French enabled Narcyza to find new employment easily upon her return to occupied Poland. She became governess to four children of Stanisław Kisielecki at an estate near

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

. She travelled to

frequently, where she met with other intellectuals. She debuted in the literary magazine ''Pierwiosnek'' (Primrose) edited by Paulina Krakowowa, and wrote regularly for other Polish magazines under the Russian censorship including ''Pielgrzym'' (edited by Eleonora Ziemięcka) and ''Przegląd Naukowy'', where other women published as well. Żmichowska founded a group of

Suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

in Warsaw active in 1842–1849, who also took part in anti-Tsarist activities. She was arrested by the Russians in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

and sentenced to three years in prison in 1849 for her membership in the delegalized ''Związek Narodu Polskiego'' (pl). Żmichowska's first novel published in 1846 was ''Poganka'' (''The Heathen''), in which she is known to have expressed interest in her friend Paulina Zbyszewska. The book was published by

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Press in 2012 in English translation by Dr. Ursula Phillips. Letters to friends and family written by Żmichowska were published in five volumes by Wrocław University in 1960. There, she also expressed interest in a married man, Edward Dembowski, which led to a known scandal. Her correspondence with Bibianna Moraczewska (an unmarried woman by choice like Narcyza) spanning 32 years consisted mostly of intellectual discourses.

Works

* ''Poganka'' (''The Heathen'') * ''Książka pamiątek'' (''The Book of Mementos'') * ''Dwoiste życie'' (''Double Life'') * ''Czy to powieść?'' (''Is that a Novel?'') * ''Ścieżki przez życie'' (''Paths through Life'') * ''Biała róża'' (''White Rose'') * ''Wolne chwile Gabryelli'' (''Gabriela's Free Moments'') * ''Wykład nauk przeznaczonych do pomocy w domowym wychowaniu panien'' (''Lectures on Bringing up Girls'') * ''Wybór powieści'' (Collection of Novels and Novellas)

References

* ''This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Polish Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zmichowska, Narcyza 1819 births 1876 deaths Polish feminists Polish women poets Polish women novelists 19th-century Polish novelists 19th-century Polish poets 19th-century Polish women writers Polish women's rights activists Governesses from the Russian Empire Writers from Warsaw Burials at Powązki Cemetery Novelists from the Russian Empire Writers from Congress Poland

Life

Works

See also

References