The confrontation between man and woman in the journalism of Olha Kobylianska and Eliza Ozheshko

Abstract

In the second half of the 20th century, works appeared in Ukraine and Poland devoted to the problems of the position of women, the role of men, their education, upbringing, place in society. It was at this time that the gender problem was outlined as topical in the positivist press. The heroines of many works of those years are depicted surrounded by books, they strive for knowledge, work for the benefit of society. The works of Eliza Ozheshko, Boleslav Prus, Mariia Sheliha, Yan Zakhariasevich and others are especially rich in such characters. The conservative press, as a rule, did not approve of such heroines.
In her artistic works, Olha Kobylianska pays maximum attention to the creation of the image of a new woman — self-sufficient, with pronounced personal qualities, educated, intelligent. Her heroines are endowed with features of European intellectuals, full of inner aristocracy. They do not want to repeat the fate of their peers: just get married and limit their lives
only to communicating with their husbands and raising children. These heroines long for the freedom to choose their own life path, true mutual love, self-realization — the same thing that Olha Kobylianska dreamed of. When creating female characters, Olha Kobylianska relies on the philosophical teachings of that time, in particular, on the thoughts about the place of women in social life expressed by Friedrich Nietzsche. Female and male characters created by Olha Kobylianska in publicistic works are extremely colorful. A woman is a person with a strong character, devoid of excessive romanticism, full of new ideas, capable of challenging society.
Eliza Ozheshko felt from her own life experience how difficult it is to remain without the support of her husband. Widowed at a young age, she faced the problem of managing the estate on her own. It was difficult to do. That is why Polka’s publicistic works are imbued with autobiographical features. She was aware of the enormous responsibility that mothers bear, although she had never had children and did not know the joys of motherhood. Eliza Ozheshko was convinced that the fate and future of the nation is in the hands of mothers.