International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

The Entuzjastki (Enthusiasts) were a small, organized faction of Polish female writers, educators, and conspirators whose activism, centered in Russian-occupied Warsaw, generated the first, second, and third waves of what became known as the women's movement in partitioned Poland from the 1840s to the 1880s. Their name was coined by Enthusiast leader Narcyza Żmichowska (pseudonym Gabryella) in the 1870s. Since many scholarly works written about the Enthusiasts did not survive World War II, there are very limited resources available, and the scope of interpretation concerning the Enthusiasts' political and social influence has been disputed among scholars. What is known and agreed upon about the Enthusiasts is that the group of women emerged in one of the most tempestuous periods of Polish history. Their activities were vested in the midst of the country's uprisings, insurrections, conspiratorial activities, and peasant rebellions against the Russian occupation. Although the Enthusiasts introduced the idea of women's emancipation in Poland, the movement never broke through the survivalism barrier of promulgating the nationalistic identity and women's integral role as mothers in raising the next Polish generation to fight against the occupying forces during Poland's politically tumultuous times. The Enthusiasts organized prior to the failure of Poland's November Insurrection in ... log in or subscribe to read full text