The Modern Novel

Biography

Zofia Nałkowska was born in Warsaw in 1884. Her father was a geographer, descended from impoverished minor nobility. Her mother had a French father and Moravian (Czech) mother. She was mainly educated at home and in a private school. She was reading Nietzsche when she was twelve and had her first poem published when she was thirteen. Though the family was too poor to finance her further studies, she continued to teach herself and was influenced by her father and his milieu. Her early literary work was poetry and she also kept a diary for the rest of her life. She published her first story when she was nineteen and, at the same time started work on her first novel. It was published in serial form in a magazine the following year and then in book form two years later. After publishing her second novel, she married the writer Leon Rygier and they wrote a novel together.

At this time, Nałkowska started to speak out on feminist issues, for which she was criticised. Feminism is a key theme of her novels, with the main character generally being the heroine of the book. She divorced her first husband and married Jan Gorzechowski and moved with him to Grodno where he became head of a detachment of military gendarmes. She would later leave him after his multiple infidelities. She continued to write novels stories, articles for magazines and newspapers and plays as well as being active in issues relating to feminism and social justice. She died in 1954, recognised as one of Poland’s leading writers.

Other links

Zofia Nałkowska
Zofia Nałkowska