Emma Pieczynska-Reichenbach
Encyclopedia
Emma Pieczynska-Reichenbach (19 April 1854 – 10 February 1927) was a Swiss
abolitionist
and feminist
born in Paris
, France
. She was orphaned at 5 years old, and grew up with foster families
in Geneva
and Neuchâtel. When she was old enough, she travelled to Paris, where she met and married
the intellectual
Stanislas Pieczynski. In 1875 she followed him to Poland
. Horrified by the lack of education of women there, she began at once to teach reading and writing. In 1881 she turned back to help people in Switzerland. In Leukerbad
she learned from the American
doctor
and suffragette
Harriet Clisby, who familiarized her with the women's rights movement.
She then got a divorce
, and attended the University of Geneva
to study medicine
. In 1889 she traveled to the United States
, where she became familiar with the organized women's right movement. In 1891 she went back to Switzerland
and studied further. In Bern she met Helene von Mülinen, who would become her life partner. She took part in the first Swiss Congress for the Interests of Women in Geneva. By this time her health had degraded enough that she had gone deaf, preventing her from receiving a doctorate
. Her thesis
, a work on sexual education
, was first published in 1898 under the title L'école de la pureté (The School of the Pure).
Around the same time she met Josephine Butler
, the founder of the International Abolitionist Federation, a group attempting to end prostitution
. In 1891 she founded the first Swiss ethics organization (sittlichkeitsverein), the Union des femmes de Genève (Union of the Women in Geneva). Together with Mülinen she founded the Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine in 1900. In 1906 she helped establish the Swiss Consumer League, and in 1915 she participated in the National Education Commission. She died in early 1927 in Mont-sur-Lausanne.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She was orphaned at 5 years old, and grew up with foster families
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and Neuchâtel. When she was old enough, she travelled to Paris, where she met and married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
the intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
Stanislas Pieczynski. In 1875 she followed him to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Horrified by the lack of education of women there, she began at once to teach reading and writing. In 1881 she turned back to help people in Switzerland. In Leukerbad
Leukerbad
Leukerbad is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.- History :The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th century B.C. Graves and ceramics attest the presence of habitation in Leukerbad...
she learned from the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
Harriet Clisby, who familiarized her with the women's rights movement.
She then got a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, and attended the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
to study medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. In 1889 she traveled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she became familiar with the organized women's right movement. In 1891 she went back to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and studied further. In Bern she met Helene von Mülinen, who would become her life partner. She took part in the first Swiss Congress for the Interests of Women in Geneva. By this time her health had degraded enough that she had gone deaf, preventing her from receiving a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
. Her thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, a work on sexual education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
, was first published in 1898 under the title L'école de la pureté (The School of the Pure).
Around the same time she met Josephine Butler
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
, the founder of the International Abolitionist Federation, a group attempting to end prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. In 1891 she founded the first Swiss ethics organization (sittlichkeitsverein), the Union des femmes de Genève (Union of the Women in Geneva). Together with Mülinen she founded the Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine in 1900. In 1906 she helped establish the Swiss Consumer League, and in 1915 she participated in the National Education Commission. She died in early 1927 in Mont-sur-Lausanne.
Further reading
- E. Serment, 'Emma Pieczynska, née Reichenbach, dans ses oeuvres', Annuaires des femmes suisses 1926/27', 10 (1927), pp. 81-111
- Olive WyonOlive WyonDr. Olive Wyon was a British author and translator of books of the Christian faith.She was born in Hampstead, London, into a cultured Victorian family....
, Radiant freedom; the story of Emma Pieczynska, Lutterworth press, 1942 - Anne-Marie Käppeli, Sublime croisade. Ethique et politique de féminisme Protestant, 1875-1928, 1990, pp. 79-102