Short Stories

The world of sensitive womanhood at the turn of the century

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, during a turbulent period of change in Czech society, the demand for equal rights for women in private and public life was foremost among the fundamental ethical issues. The prose work of Růžena Svobodová is a concise artistic statement about the process of emancipation, about redefining women' s destiny and mission, about the possibilities of modern, educated women to transcend the patriarchally understood roles of mother, caring wives and housewives, or rather, man' s helpers or muses. In her early Stories (1896), Svobodová weaves her heroines into contradictory, often embarrassing situations in which, persecuted by conventions, prejudices, and contempt, they vainly search for their uniqueness and self-worth. In the lyrically suggestive tragedies of Vain Loves (1907), he focuses on psychological portraits of gentle, soulful women who have channeled their repressed feelings and desires into artistic creation and often find liberation in suicide. In contrast, the late Peaceful House (1917) demonstrates the author' s efforts to capture the ideal of a " new womanhood, " shaped by maternal altruism and selfless love. The committee was compiled and commented by Martin Tichý and Radek Touš.