Adela Xenopol
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Adela Xenopol (1861–1939) was a
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n feminist and writer. She published both literary works and feminist tracts, founding several magazines. In 1914, just prior to the advent of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
she and other feminists presented a petition for
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
to the Romanian Parliament. In 1925, she founded the Society of Romanian Women Writers to encourage women to publish their works and the following year founded an influential journal as the publishing arm of the society which published works by both women and men on feminist topics.


Early life

Adela Xenopol was born in 1861, in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, the capital of the
Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...
region, to a family of intellectuals. The family's origins were
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from the father's side and
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from the mother's side. After her father was denied the right to marry the woman he had chosen, the couple ran away and boarded a ship. The fiancée was lost at sea, but Dimitrie was rescued by fishermen and put ashore in
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or
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, where he spent time before moving to
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. From there, Dimitrie made his way
Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
, where he was converted from
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
to
Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...
and adopted the surname Csenopolu, meaning foreigner, which was later changed to Xenopol. After his arrival in Romania, Dimitrie married Maria Vasiliu, daughter of a shingle maker and became a clerk at the Prussian Consulate in Iași. The couple had six children, including Alexandru, who would become a historian;
Filip Filip () is a masculine given name and a surname, cognate to Philip. The male name Filip comes from the Greek "philos" (love) and "hippos" (horse), which means "horse lover". In Croatia, the name Filip was among the most common masculine given nam ...
, later a noted architect; Maria; Nicolae, who would develop into a statesman; Lucreția, later a secondary school teacher and the first woman admitted to the Geographical Society of Bucharest; and Adela. Xenopol was educated abroad, in
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taking classes at the
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and became one of the first women to audit courses at the Sorbonne.


Career

After completing her education, Xenopol returned to Iași and began a career as a writer. Her first published work, ''Chestiunea femeilor'' (The Woman Question), was published in ''Femeia Română'' (Romanian Woman) in January 1879. The article focused on liberal feminist ideals and the elimination of legal and moral restrictions which subjugated women's rights and made the subordinate to men. In addition to feminist tracts, she published lyric pieces in the
Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...
journal, ''Revista politică'' (Political Magazine, 1886) and then published ''Versuri și istorisiri'' (Lyrics and Stories) in Iași in 1888. She founded the monthly magazine ''Dochia'' in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in 1896 and then between 1896 and 1898, she served as its editor of the monthly journal ''Dochia'', a women's rights publication. Xenopol solicited articles from leading cultural figures including
Maria Cunțan Maria Cunțan (February 7, 1862–November 23, 1935) was an Austrian Empire-born Romanian poet. Biography Born in Sibiu, her father Dimitrie, originally from Dobârca, was a Romanian Orthodox priest, composer and professor of liturgical music ...
, Smaranda Gheorghiu,
Cornelia Kernbach Cornelia may refer to: People *Cornelia (name), a feminine given name *Cornelia (gens), a Roman family Places *425 Cornelia, the asteroid ''Cornelia'', a main-belt asteroid ;Italy *Cornelia (Rome Metro), an underground station on Rome Metro *Via ...
,
Cincinat Pavelescu Cincinat Pavelescu ( – November 30, 1934) was a Romanian poet and playwright. Born in Bucharest, his parents were the engineer Ion Pavelescu and his wife Paulina (''née'' Bucșan). He attended the Cantemir High School in his native city, foll ...
, Elena Sevastos, Vasile Urechia, among others to provoke debate on women's place in society. She supported emancipation in economic, intellectual, legal and political spheres. Xenopol published ''Între sfinți. Comedie într'un act'' (Among Saints. A comedy in one act) in 1902 in Iași and the following year, ''Spre lumină'' (To the light) in Bucharest. Between 1905 and 1906, she edited ''Românca'' (The Romanian Woman) in Bucharest and in 1910, published in Paris a collection of works in French, ''Comédies. Tableaux de la vie roumaine'' (Comedies. Short stories of Romanian life). The collection included the stories "Un conflict céleste" (A heavenly conflict); "Aux Eaux" (To the Waters); "La Boite aux Lettres" (The Box of Letters); "Le Poète" (The Poet); "Entre Artistes" (Between Artists); "Le Revenant" (The Ghost); "La Fille aux Mains d'Ouate" (The Girl with Hands of Wadding); "Le Trésor" (The Treasure); "Bois, pourquoi te Balancer?" (Wood, why Balance?); "Romance"; and "Paroles et Musique" (Lyrics and Music). Another French work published in 1910 in Geneva was ''Education et religion. Essai sur l'origine du Christianisme'' (Education and religion. Essay on the origin of Christianity). Between 1912 and 1916, Xenopol edited ''Viitorul româncelor'' (The Future of Romanian Women). In 1913, she published the historical novel ''Pe urma războiului Roman'' (After the Roman War) and in 1914 she led a group of other feminists in presenting a petition to the
Romanian Parliament The Parliament of Romania () is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the capital. Prior to the modification of the Cons ...
requesting
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
. As the women were aware their concerns would be opposed by those politicians who felt women were unprepared to be active participants in society, the petition tempered their demand, asking for the right to vote for intellectual women and apply to local elections. Due to concerns over
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, politicians did not take the petition seriously. Though she supported the participation of Romania in the war as a nationalist, she favored
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
and throughout the war, spoke against conquest and in favor of equal rights citizens as a way to achieve peace. Xenopol published her second historical novel, ''Uragan'' in 1922. In 1925, she founded the Society of Romanian Women Writers (), as an organization to encourage women to publish their works. The following year, she founded a journal for the society, ''Revista scriitoarei'' (The Woman Writer's Journal) and served as the editor-in-chief through 1928. The journal featured portraits of prominent feminists like
Maria Baiulescu Maria Baiulescu (21 August 1860 – 24 June 1941) was a Romanian author, suffragist, women’s rights activist, Romanian nationalist, and feminist leader. Life She was born in Brașov in 1860. Her father, Bartolomeu Baiulescu, was a Romanian Or ...
,
Alexandrina Cantacuzino Alexandrina "Didina" Cantacuzino ( Pallady; also known as Alexandrina Grigore Cantacuzino and (Francization, Francized) Alexandrine Cantacuzène; 20 September 1876 – 1944) was a Romanians, Romanian political activist, philanthropist and diploma ...
,
Elena Văcărescu Elena Văcărescu, or Hélène Vacaresco (September 21, 1864 in Bucharest – February 17, 1947 in Paris), was a Romanian- French aristocrat writer, twice a laureate of the Académie Française. Life Through her father, Ioan Văcărescu, she d ...
and published works by prominent male literary figures, as well as women. Some of the women who wrote for the journal included Constanța Hodoș,
Mărgărita Miller-Verghy Mărgărita Miller-Verghy (; first name also Margareta, surname also Miller-Verghi, Miller-Vergy; full name also Marg. M-V.; January 1, 1865 – December 31, 1953) was a Romanian socialite and author, also known as a schoolteacher, journalist, crit ...
,
Sofia Nădejde Sofia Nădejde (born Sofia Băncilă; September 14, 1856 – June 11, 1946) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, translator, journalist, women's rights activist and socialist. Born in Botoșani, her parents were merchant Vasile Băncilă-Gheorghi ...
,
Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu (; 8 December 1876 – 5 March 1955 in Bucharest) was a novelist of the Romanian interwar period. Life Hortensia Bengescu was born in Ivești, Galați, Ivești, Galați County, on 8 December 1876. She was the daughter o ...
, and
Izabela Sadoveanu-Evan Izabela Sadoveanu-Evan (, last name also Sadoveanu-Andrei, first name also Isabella or Izabella; born Izabela Morțun, pen names I.Z.S.D. and Iz. Sd.;
, among others. She published ''Prin Cetatea Carpaților'' (Through the Carpathian Fortress) in Bucharest in 1928 with the Royal Court Press.


Death and legacy

Xenopol died on 10 May 1939 and with her death, the Romanian feminist and democratic movements lost one of their most ardent proponents.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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1861 births 1939 deaths Writers from Iași Romanian women novelists Romanian feminists 19th-century Romanian women writers 19th-century Romanian writers 20th-century Romanian women writers 20th-century Romanian novelists Romanian people of Greek descent People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia