Born: 23 May 1842, Poland
Died: 8 October 1910
Country most active: Poland
Also known as: Jan Sawa, Maria Wasiłowska, Marko, Jan Waręż, Marja Konopnicka, Marii Konopnickiej
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Maria Konopnicka was a prolific Polish writer known for her poetry, novels, children’s literature, translations, journalism, and activism for women’s rights and Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including Jan Sawa, and greatly influenced the Positivist period in Poland.
Konopnicka began writing in 1870 with her debut poem, “W zimowy poranek” (“On a Winter’s Morn”), and gained widespread acclaim in 1876 with her poem “W górach” (“In the Mountains”). In 1862, she married Jarosław Konopnicki, though their union was marred by disapproval of her writing career. This ultimately led to her unofficial separation in 1878, when she moved to Warsaw with her children, pursuing her writing career more freely.
Konopnicka’s life was marked by turbulence, including extramarital romances, family tragedies, and mental illness. She was closely associated with fellow poet Eliza Orzeszkowa and activist Maria Dulębianka. While speculation surrounds her sexuality, she lived together with Maria Dulębianka for two decades.
Konopnicka was also a social activist, participating in protests against the repression of ethnic and religious minorities in Prussia and advocating for women’s rights. Her work gained significant recognition in the 1880s, and she began writing children’s literature in 1884. Konopnicka passed away in Lviv (now Ukraine), where she was buried in the Łyczakowski Cemetery.
Her partner, Maria Dulębianka, was buried later next to her, per Konopnicka’s wishes.
Her literary legacy includes prose, poetry, and a distinctive style of poems stylized as folk songs. She addressed themes of oppression, poverty, and patriotism in her works, advocating for the plight of the peasantry, workers, and Polish Jews. In the realm of children’s literature, “O krasonoludkach i sierotce Marysi” (Little Orphan Mary and the Gnomes, 1896) stands out.
The following is excerpted from “400 Outstanding Women of the World and the Costumology of Their Time” by Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, published in 1933.
Marja Konopnicka, the eminent poetess, was born in Suwalki in 1846. She wrote lyrics, poems, dramatic sketches, novels, and commentaries on literature, and translated many masterpieces of French, Czech and German literature. Her first poem appeared in 18705 and from 1874 she was editor of a periodical for women Sivit (The Daien), until its publication was forbidden by the Russian authorities. She presented in her work scenes from the life of the poor, with its attendant miseries and injustices, or one of the many social problems. She was deeply moved by the sufferings of humanity, and her works are tinged with sadness. Of all contemporary Polish writers, perhaps Konopnicka felt the most sincere love for the people, whose virtues she idealized, and whose misfortunes she delineated sharply. Her work increased in power with each passing year, and her works were translated into many languages and have received wide recognition throughout the world, especially in the Slavonic countries. She expressed the soul of the Polish people, and her education and her unlimited range of perception, gave her all the power that an artist can have at his command. Her works have been always considered a model of good Polish, because of the beauty and perfection of the language. She has written an epic of Poland, a heroic nation, unblemished in spirit and honor during adversity and prosperity alike. Only that artist is worthy of being called great who, in his great love for his own country, can share intuitively the joys and sorrows of the people, which Konopnicka expressed in all her works.