Nataliya Kobrynska (8 June 1851 – 22 January 1920) was a Ukrainian writer, socialist feminist, and activist from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Biography

The daughter of Reverend Ivan Ozarkevych, a priest who was later elected to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

Parliament, and Teofilia Okunevska, she was born Nataliya Ozarkevych in the village of

Beleluia Beleluia () is a village in the Sniatyn urban hromada of the Kolomyia Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in Ukraine. The traditional Malanka ritual of the village of Beleluia is a cultural heritage site of Ukraine. History On 19 July 2020, as a res ...

in the Galicia province of Austria-Hungary. At that time, women were not allowed to pursue education beyond the elementary level and so she was mainly educated at home. She studied several languages: German, French, Polish and Russian and read literature from various counties. In 1871, she married Theofil Kobrynsky. He died a few years later and she was forced to return to

Bolekhiv Bolekhiv (, ; ; ) is a city in Kalush Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. It was once home to a large Jewish community, very few of whom survived World War II. Bolekhiv hosts the administration of Bolekhiv urban hromada, one of the hromada ...

to live with her parents. Kobrynska went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

with her father, where she met

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (, ; 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, translator, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, ethnographer, and the author of the first d ...

; Franko encouraged her to take on the task of improving the status of Ukrainian women and to encourage them to seek equality with men. In 1884, she organized the Tovarystvo Ruskykh Zhinok ( Association of Ruthenian Women) to educate women by exposing them to literature and by promoting discussions on women's rights. In 1890, she was part of a delegation that lobbied the Minister of Education to allow women to attend university. She also advocated universal suffrage, day care and communal kitchens. She wrote her first short story "Shuminska" (later known as ''The Spirit of the Times'', in 1883; the following year, she wrote a novella ''Zadlia kusnyka khliba'' (For a Piece of Bread). In 1887, with

Olena Pchilka Olha Petrivna Kosach (birth name, née Drahomanova 29 June 1849 – 4 October 1930), better known by her pen name Olena Pchilka (), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian publisher, writer, ethnographer, interpreter, and civil activist. She was the ...

, she edited ''Pershyi vinok'' (The First Garland), a collection of writing by Ukrainian women. Kobrynska's publishing house Zhinocha Sprava (Women’s Cause) produced three issues of a women's almanac called ''Nasha dolya'' (Our Fate), which included works by Ukrainian writer

Anna Pavlyk Anna Pavlyk (26 January 1855 - 13 October 1928) was a Ukrainian social and cultural activist and writer, an active participant in the women's movement in Galicia. Biography Anna Pavlyk was born in Monastyrske village, now part of the city of K ...

. In 1893-1896, Natalia Kobrynska became involved in publishing. Her publishing house, Women's Business, published three books of the almanac Our Destiny. In order to establish more efficient book publishing, Natalia Kobrynska moved to Lviv, seeking better conditions for popularizing feminist ideas. Kobrynska died in Bolekhiv in 1920. Her work was translated to English for the collections ''The Spirit of the Times'' (1998) and ''Warm the Children, O Sun'' (1998). ''Broken'' was also translated by Hannah Leliv & Slava Faybysh for ''Virginia's Sisters: An Anthology of Women's Writings'' (2023).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobrynska, Nataliya 1851 births 1920 deaths Socialist feminists Ukrainian women novelists Ukrainian women short story writers Writers from Austria-Hungary Ukrainian short story writers Ukrainian feminist writers Ukrainian women editors Ukrainian publishers (people) 19th-century Ukrainian women writers 20th-century Ukrainian women writers 19th-century Ukrainian writers 20th-century Ukrainian writers