Franciszka Arnsztajnowa ([fraɲˈtÍ¡É•iÊ‚ka arnÊ‚tajˈnÉ"va]; in full:
Franciszka Hanna Arnsztajnowa; 19 February 1865 â€" August 1942) was a
Polish poet, playwright, and translator of Jewish descent.[7] Much of
her creative oeuvre falls within the Young Poland period,
stylistically encompassing the twilight of neo-romanticism. She is
called "the legend of Lublin".[8]Franciszka Arnsztajnowa was the
daughter of the Lublin-based novelist Malwina Meyerson (real name,
MaÅ‚ka Meyerson, née Horowicz (Horowitz); 1839â€"1921), a Lublin
native, and Bernard (Berek, or Ber) Meyerson (b. 1837), a native of
Tykocin, an international trader and a major Lublin financier.[7] Her
brother was the French philosopher, Émile Meyerson, based in Paris.
She attended high school for girls in Lublin, and went to Germany for
higher studies in biology, travelling extensively in Europe. On 7
January 1885 she married Marek Arnsztein (alternative spellings:
Arnsztejn, Arnsztajn, Arnstein; 1855â€"1930), a physician educated in
Warsaw, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, and a political and social
activist, a native of Kazimierz Dolny based in Lublin from 1884.[6]
They had a daughter, Stefanja Arnsztajnówna (c.1890â€"1942; married
name MieczysÅ‚awska), and a son, Jan Arnsztajn (1897â€"1934), much
beloved of Arnsztajnowa and whose death from tuberculosis left her
devastated.As a poet Arnsztajnowa debuted at the age of 23 with the
poem "Na okręcie" (On Board a Ship) published in the newspaper Kuryer
Codzienny of 1 October 1888. She issued her first collection of poetry
in book form in 1895 under the title Poezye, a volume which she
dedicated to her mother, the novelist Malwina Meyerson.[9] The book is
divided into six distinct sections under such headings as "Sonety"
(Sonnets), "Melodye" (Melodies), "Historye" (Histories), and "Z gór
Tyrolu" (From the Mountains of Tyrol). The opening poem, untitled but
beginning with the words "O nie płacz..." (Weep thou not...; p. 7),
sets the tone for the entire collection as she tries, with uncommon
tenderness and filial piety, to soothe her mother's pain at having her
own songs dispersed by the winds of time to the farthermost recesses
of the soul: the implication is that the poems in this collection will
become her mother's own, which the daughter will now sing for her, the
lute in hand, sitting at her feet. (In the very last poem of the
collection the poet again addresses her mother directly, "O mother,
why give me a heart so | Tender...")[10] The chief characteristic of
the collection, thematically speaking, was however the preoccupation
and love she evinced for the people living close to the land, their
ordinary lives and folkloric customs. At the same time she delicately
touched upon the social questions of the day employing language in the
balladic-melancholic key.[11] The volume will instantly establish
Arnsztajnowa as a major voice in Polish poetry among those exploring
the nation's folk themes.[12]
Franciszka Hanna Arnsztajnowa; 19 February 1865 â€" August 1942) was a
Polish poet, playwright, and translator of Jewish descent.[7] Much of
her creative oeuvre falls within the Young Poland period,
stylistically encompassing the twilight of neo-romanticism. She is
called "the legend of Lublin".[8]Franciszka Arnsztajnowa was the
daughter of the Lublin-based novelist Malwina Meyerson (real name,
MaÅ‚ka Meyerson, née Horowicz (Horowitz); 1839â€"1921), a Lublin
native, and Bernard (Berek, or Ber) Meyerson (b. 1837), a native of
Tykocin, an international trader and a major Lublin financier.[7] Her
brother was the French philosopher, Émile Meyerson, based in Paris.
She attended high school for girls in Lublin, and went to Germany for
higher studies in biology, travelling extensively in Europe. On 7
January 1885 she married Marek Arnsztein (alternative spellings:
Arnsztejn, Arnsztajn, Arnstein; 1855â€"1930), a physician educated in
Warsaw, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, and a political and social
activist, a native of Kazimierz Dolny based in Lublin from 1884.[6]
They had a daughter, Stefanja Arnsztajnówna (c.1890â€"1942; married
name MieczysÅ‚awska), and a son, Jan Arnsztajn (1897â€"1934), much
beloved of Arnsztajnowa and whose death from tuberculosis left her
devastated.As a poet Arnsztajnowa debuted at the age of 23 with the
poem "Na okręcie" (On Board a Ship) published in the newspaper Kuryer
Codzienny of 1 October 1888. She issued her first collection of poetry
in book form in 1895 under the title Poezye, a volume which she
dedicated to her mother, the novelist Malwina Meyerson.[9] The book is
divided into six distinct sections under such headings as "Sonety"
(Sonnets), "Melodye" (Melodies), "Historye" (Histories), and "Z gór
Tyrolu" (From the Mountains of Tyrol). The opening poem, untitled but
beginning with the words "O nie płacz..." (Weep thou not...; p. 7),
sets the tone for the entire collection as she tries, with uncommon
tenderness and filial piety, to soothe her mother's pain at having her
own songs dispersed by the winds of time to the farthermost recesses
of the soul: the implication is that the poems in this collection will
become her mother's own, which the daughter will now sing for her, the
lute in hand, sitting at her feet. (In the very last poem of the
collection the poet again addresses her mother directly, "O mother,
why give me a heart so | Tender...")[10] The chief characteristic of
the collection, thematically speaking, was however the preoccupation
and love she evinced for the people living close to the land, their
ordinary lives and folkloric customs. At the same time she delicately
touched upon the social questions of the day employing language in the
balladic-melancholic key.[11] The volume will instantly establish
Arnsztajnowa as a major voice in Polish poetry among those exploring
the nation's folk themes.[12]
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