Maria Dąbrowska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Dąbrowska
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| Born | Maria Szumska 6 October 1889 Russów, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (now Poland) |
| Died | 19 May 1965 (aged 75) Warsaw, Poland |
| Resting place | Powązki Cemetery |
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| Language | Polish |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Notable works | Noce i dnie (Nights and Days) |
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Maria Dąbrowska (born Maria Szumska; 6 October 1889 – 19 May 1965) was a famous Polish writer. She wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays. Her most well-known work is the historical novel Noce i dnie (Nights and Days). This book was written between 1932 and 1934 in four parts. Later, in 1975, it was made into a popular film.
Maria Dąbrowska also translated the famous Diary of Samuel Pepys into Polish. She received the Golden Laurel award from the Polish Academy of Literature in 1935. She was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature eleven times between 1939 and 1965.
Contents
Maria Dąbrowska's Life Story
Maria Dąbrowska was born Maria Szumska in Russów, a village near Kalisz, in an area of Poland that was controlled by the Russian military at the time. Her parents were from a group of people called the landed gentry, who were landowners but had become less wealthy. Maria had a condition that made her eyes appear "cross-eyed."
She studied important subjects like sociology (the study of society), philosophy (the study of knowledge and existence), and natural sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium. In 1917, she moved to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Maria was very interested in both books and politics. She spent a lot of her time helping people who were poor.
Between World War I and World War II, Maria worked for a short time in the Polish Ministry of Agriculture. She also started writing more for newspapers and became more involved in public life. In 1927, she began focusing on writing about human rights. In her books, plays, and newspaper articles, she explored how difficult times affected people's feelings and lives, especially ordinary people.
Maria married Marian Dąbrowski, but he passed away suddenly when she was 36 years old. Later, she lived with Stanisław Stempowski until World War II began. During the war, when Poland was occupied, she stayed in Warsaw. She secretly supported Polish culture and art. Around this time, she met Anna Kowalska and Jerzy Kowalski, who were also writers. Jerzy died in 1948, and Maria and Anna continued to live together for the next 20 years.
Maria Dąbrowska received a special award called the Order of Polonia Restituta. In 1964, she was one of the people who signed a letter called the Letter of 34. This letter was sent to the Prime Minister and asked for more freedom for artists and writers. Maria Dąbrowska passed away on May 19, 1965, in Warsaw, at the age of 75.
Her Education and Learning
Maria Dąbrowska's parents, Josef Szumski and Ludomira (née Galczynska), wanted her to have a very good education. They sent her to private schools for most of her early life. In 1901, she went to a boarding school in Kalisz. Then, in 1905, she attended another private boarding school in Warsaw. Here, she learned a lot about literature from a teacher named Ignacy Chrzanowski. She stayed at this school until 1908.
After that, from 1908 to 1909, she started studying natural science at a university in Lausanne, Switzerland. She finished her studies at the University of Brussels in 1912. She earned a degree in natural science, which means she studied subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics.
Maria Dąbrowska's Political Views
When Maria Dąbrowska first met her husband, Marian Dąbrowski, he was a political refugee and an active member of the Polish socialist party. This, along with the growing tensions in Poland when she was young, made her want to become an activist too.
For example, she wrote two protest articles in 1931. These articles spoke out against the government holding leaders who were against the Polish government. These leaders were kept in a fortress under Józef Piłsudski's rule. Maria Dąbrowska believed this was unfair and wanted to help the opposition through her writing.
Another example of her activism was an article she wrote in 1936 called "The Yearly Disgrace." In this article, she spoke out against unfair treatment of Jewish people in Polish universities. She also wrote against the government having too much power.
Even though she was an activist, Maria Dąbrowska did not officially belong to any political party. She once wrote in her diary, "I have no ideology. The only thing directing me is my love of people and life, and compassion." This shows that her actions came from a deep care for others.
Her Unique Writing Style
Maria Dąbrowska was known for having a writing style that was very aware of the world around her. She had a mature and open way of looking at things. When she first started writing, many big historical events were happening, like World War I. These events greatly influenced her writing. Sometimes, her writing was less about being creative and more about clearly sharing information, especially in her diaries.
Later, she also experienced World War II firsthand, which was very dangerous in Poland. Her books showed these experiences. She would write about the journeys of characters who were poor, homeless, or didn't own land. She would describe their lives in a real and caring way.
Maria Dąbrowska also wrote a novel called Przygody człowieka myślącego (Adventures of a Thinking Man). This book was published after she passed away. In it, she put her own life experiences into two characters: Ewa Radgoska and Józef Tomyski. It's interesting that Józef was a male character. This was a technique some female authors used in the early 1900s. They would put their own experiences into male characters to explore different viewpoints in their stories.
Her Published Works
- "Janek" ("Little John"), 1914, short story
- published in Prawda, No. 23 (a Warsaw weekly newspaper)
- Dzieci ojczyzny (Fatherland's Children), 1918, short stories
- Gałąź czereśni (The Cherry Branch), 1922, short stories
- Uśmiech dzieciństwa (The Smile of Childhood), 1923, short stories
- Ludzie stamtąd (People from Yonder), 1926, short stories
- Marcin Kozera, 1927, short stories
- Dzikie ziele, 1925-1929, short stories
- "Rozmova z przyjaciolmi" ("A Talk with Friends") & "Na ciezkiej drodze" ("On a Difficult Road"), 1931, protest articles
- published in Wiadomosci Literackie Nos. 3 & 4
- Noce i dnie (Nights and Days), 1932-1934, a series of four novels – English translation fragment
- "Doroczny wstyd" ("The Yearly Disgrace"), 1936, protest article
- published in Dziennik Popularny No. 43
- Znaki życia (Signs of Life), 1938, short stories
- Geniusz sierocy (The Orphan Genius), 1939, drama
- Stanisław i Bogumił (Stanislaw and Bogumil), 1948, historical play
- Gwiazda zaranna (The Morning Star), 1955, short stories
- included Pielgrzymka do Warszawy (Pilgrimage to Warsaw)
- Szkice o Conradzie (Essays on Conrad), 1959, essays
- Dzienniki (Journals), 1914-1965, her personal diaries
- Przygody człowieka myślącego (Adventures of a Thinking Man), 1970, novel
- published after her death, written sometime during the years of her diaries
See also
In Spanish: Maria Dąbrowska para niños
