Eliza Orzeszkowa
Eliza Orzeszkowa | |
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| Born | 6 June 1841 Miĺkaŭščyna,Russian Empire(nowBelarus) |
| Died | 18 May 1910(aged 68) Hrodna,Russian Empire (now Belarus) |
| Occupation | Novelist,essayist,publisher |
| Notable works | Meir Ezofowicz,Nad Niemnem,Cham,Bene nati |
| Spouse | Piotr Orzeszko Stanisław Nahorski |
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Eliza Orzeszkowa(6 June 1841 – 18 May 1910) was a Polishnovelistand a leading writer[1]of thePositivismmovement duringforeign PartitionsofPoland.In 1905, together withHenryk Sienkiewicz,she was nominated for theNobel Prize in Literature.
Life and career[edit]
She was born in Milkowszczyzna[2](then in theRussian Empire,now inBelarus) to a noble Pawłowski family, and died inHrodna(now in Belarus) nearby.[3]From 1852 to 1857, she lived inWarsaw,where she attended school. There she met another future Polish writerMaria Konopnicka.After returning to Milkowszczyzna, at the age of sixteen, Eliza married Piotr Orzeszko, a Polishnoblemantwice her own age, who was exiled toSiberiaafter theJanuary Uprising of 1863.[4]They were legally separated in 1869.[5]She married again in 1894, after a 30-year-long relationship with Stanisław Nahorski, who died a few years later.[6]In 1866, she moved to Hrodna and turned novelist.[2]
Orzeszkowa wrote a series of 30novelsand 120 powerfulsketches,dramas andnovellas,dealing with the social conditions of her occupied country. Her novelEli Makower(1875) describes the relations between theJewsand the Polishnobility;andMeir Ezofowicz(1878), the conflict between Jewish orthodoxy and modern liberalism.[4]In 1888 Orzeszkowa wrote two novels about theNiemenRiver (now part of Belarus):Cham(The Boor) focused on the life of fishermen; and her most famous novel,Nad Niemnem(On the Niemen)—often compared toPan Tadeusz—dealing with the issues of Polish aristocracy against the backdrop of political and social order. Her study onpatriotismandcosmopolitanismappeared in 1880.[5]A uniform edition of her works was published inWarsawbetween 1884 and 1888.[4] Much of her output is available also in German translation.
In 1905, together withHenryk SienkiewiczandLeo Tolstoy,Orzeszkowa was nominated for theNobel Prize in Literature.The prize was awarded to Sienkiewicz. According to official records of the Nobel Prize committee, the idea of dividing the prize was rejected as an act of disparagement, and only the latter ended up as the laureate.[7]
Remembrance[edit]
In 1929, the statue of Orzeszkowa was unveiled inGrodno(present-day Belarus). In 1938, Eliza Orzeszkowa's bust designed byHenryk Kunawas unveiled in Warsaw's Praski Park.
In 1978, a biographical film titledTy pójdziesz górą...devoted to Orzeszkowa was directed by Zygmunt Skonieczny with Hanna Maria Giza portraying the novelist. The film was part of a cycle of filmsFigures of Polish literatureand premiered in 1980.[8]
In 2023, during the 12th edition of the National Reading Day, her bookNad Niemnemwas read in numerous public places. The President of PolandAndrzej Dudaas well as the First Lady of PolandAgata Kornhauser-Dudatook part in the campaign.[9]
Selected works[edit]
- Obrazek z lat głodowych1866
- Ostatnia miłość,1868
- Z życia realisty,1868
- Na prowincji,1870
- W klatce,1870
- Cnotliwi,1871
- Pamiętnik Wacławy,1871
- Pan Graba,1872
- Na dnie sumienia,1873
- Marta,1873
- Eli Makower,1875
- Rodzina Brochwiczów,1876
- Pompalińscy,1876
- Maria,1877
- Meir Ezofowicz,1878
- Z różnych sfer,1879–1882
- Widma,1881
- Sylwek Cmentarnik,1881
- Zygmunt Ławicz i jego koledzy,1881
- Bańka mydlana,1882–1883
- Pierwotni,1883
- Niziny,1885
- Dziurdziowie,1885
- Mirtala,1886
- Nad Niemnem(On the Niemen), 1888
- Cham(The Boor), 1888
- Panna Antonina(collection of novels),1888
- W zimowy wieczór(collection of novels),1888
- Czciciel potęgi,1891
- Jędza,1891
- Bene nati,1891
- Westalka,1891
- Dwa bieguny,1893
- Melancholicy,1896
- Australczyk,1896
- Iskry(collection of novels),1898
- Argonauci(The Argonauts),[10]1900
- Ad astra. Dwugłos,1904
- I pieśń niech zapłacze,1904
- Gloria victis(collection of novellas),1910
Journalism for social justice
- Kilka słów o kobietach(On women),[11]1870
- Patriotyzm i kosmopolityzm,1880
- O Żydach i kwestii żydowskiej,1882
References[edit]
- ^Eliza Orzeszkowa,Britannica, Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^abHARGREAVES-MAWDSLEY, W.N (1968).Everyman's Dictionary of European Writers.Loondon: Aldine press. p. 400.
- ^"Eliza Orzeszkowa" from the Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^abcChisholm 1911.
- ^abProf. dr hab. Józef Bachórz,Eliza Orzeszkowa.Virtual Library of Polish Literature.Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^Eliza Orzeszkowa.Słownik pisarzy polskich.Brykowisko. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^The Nobel Prize in Literature: Nominations and Reports 1901–1950
- ^"Ty pójdziesz górą".filmpolski.pl(in Polish).Retrieved20 September2023.
- ^"The National Reading Day in Poland".explore-poland.eu.Retrieved20 September2023.
- ^Project Gutenberg's"The Argonauts" by Eliza Orzeszko (aka Orzeszkowa).Translator:Jeremiah Curtin,1901.
- ^"Kilka słów o kobietach" by E. Orzeszkowa.Kujawsko-PomorskaDigital Library.Retrieved 23 September 2011.
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Orzeszko, Eliza".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 343.
External links[edit]
- 1842 births
- 1910 deaths
- People from Grodno District
- People from Grodnensky Uyezd
- Clan of Korwin
- 19th-century Polish novelists
- 20th-century Polish novelists
- Polish essayists
- Polish political writers
- Polish Theosophists
- Polish women novelists
- Polish women essayists
- 19th-century Polish women writers
- 19th-century Polish writers
- 20th-century Polish women writers
- 19th-century essayists
- 20th-century essayists
- Polish positivists