XVIII a. didikių saviraiška Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje
Noble Women’s Self-Expression in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: XVIII a. smarkiai kito ne tik amžininkų požiūris į moterų vietą ir tikslus vyrų pasaulyje, bet ir faktinė moterų padėtis. Straipsnyje, remiantis istoriografija ir šaltiniais, analizuojama XVIII a. kilmingų pasauliečių (dažniausiai didikių) moterų, gyvenusių arba kilusių iš Lietuvos Didžio¬sios Kunigaikštystės, veikla LDK arba už jos ribų. Pristatoma šių moterų literatūrinė ir teatrinė veikla. Tyrimas atliktas naudojant aprašomąjį analitinį ir lyginamąjį metodus. Kalbant apie mo¬terų tyrinėjimus, Lietuvos istoriografijoje tebėra daug spragų, todėl šis tyrimas yra aktualus.The article discusses written sources which represent literary expression by women of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Another focus of the analysis is women’s activities in the theatre as revealed with reference to historiography and other sources. The study is based on descriptive-analytical and comparative methods. These particular aspects are under-researched in Lithuanian histori¬ography, a fact which heightens the importance of the present research. The 18th century is frequently labelled as women’s century not only because discussions started on women’s place and aims in the masculine world but also because women started to perform on stage. Such discussions in the context of the ideas of the Enlightenment started in France and reached the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC) and the Grand Duchy of Lithu¬ania. Possibilities for women’s spheres of activity were influenced by discussions on women’s sta¬tus in society. Women were also dependent on the new cultural and geopolitical circumstances. Although women’s legal status was different from that of men, their position in the public sphere depended on woman’s self-determination and her status in her own family. The first partition of 1772 affected changes in the meanings of women’s roles in society. Women started to be treated as citizens and educators of public-spirited children. Furthermore, women in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were interested in different literary activities. It is a time when women wrote diverse forms of literature such as diaries and memoirs. Women also translated different texts into the Polish language. In the Grand Duchy of Lithu¬ania, women’s theatrical activities are of special importance. Women were actors and directors of plays. They also translated plays into the Polish language. The theatre was the field which witnessed the emergence of first professional creative women. The present paper is based on the master’s thesis “Spheres of Activities of Active Women in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 18th Century.” The thesis was written at the Department of History, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania, 2013.

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