Marija Lastauskienė
Encyclopedia
Marija Lastauskienė née
Ivanauskaitė (May 15, 1872 in Šiauliai
– July 19, 1957 in Kaunas
) and her sister Sofija Pšibiliauskienė
were the Lithuania
n sisters writers of Polish heritage using the pen name
Lazdynų Pelėda
. Marija married Belarusian literary critic and politician Vaclau Lastouski
(Lastauskas), but divorced after a few years.
, Lastauskienė grew up and spent her youth in a family estate in Paragiai. Her father was painter Nikodem Iwanowski. Her family, of Polish–Lithuanian nobility
stock, was influenced by Polish culture. Therefore her native language was Polish and she had difficulties writing in Lithuanian. Lastauskienė did not have formal education and self-educated reading various Polish authors. At the age of sixteen she moved to Warsaw
to work as a seamstress at her aunt's shop. She later moved to Saint Petersburg
and Riga
, before settling down in Vilnius
, where her sister lived, in 1907. Encouraged by her sister, Lastauskienė began writing more actively. During World War I, the sisters moved back to their childhood home in Paragiai. In 1938 Lastauskienė moved to Kaunas
, where she died in 1957. Since 1966 a museum is established in their former farmstead. In 1993 a monument to the sisters was erected in Vilnius
(sculptor Dalia Matulaitė, architects Jūras Balkevičius and Rimantas Buivydas).
After her sister's death, Lastauskienė wrote in Lithuanian and her daughter corrected the language. The first works published under her own name were short story Auka (Sacrifice, 1907–1908) and novel Šviesa ir šešėliai (Light and Shadows, 1925–1926). Influenced by Polish literature
, Lastauskienė's work share sentimental idealism and melancholy, but also have features of realism. Without formal education, her works were weaker on literary techniques, character depth, or stylistic devices, but attracted readers by offering imaginative and captivating plots. Her works usually feature a protagonist, idealist desiring a happy and peaceful life, who is broken by harsh reality: poverty, social inequality, rigid traditions, or simply unexpected accidents. Lastauskienė showed sympathy for these characters and condemned the oppressors. Lastauskienė more often depicted city dwellers, factory workers, and intelligentsia than villagers and farmers.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Ivanauskaitė (May 15, 1872 in Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
– July 19, 1957 in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
) and her sister Sofija Pšibiliauskienė
Sofija Pšibiliauskienė
Sofija Pšibiliauskienė née Ivanauskaitė and Marija Lastauskienė were two Lithuanian sister writers of Polish origin, using the same pen name Lazdynų Pelėda .-Biography:Pšibiliauskienė was born to an impractical painter Nikodem Iwanowski of...
were the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n sisters writers of Polish heritage using the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Lazdynų Pelėda
Lazdynų Pelėda
Lazdynų Pelėda was the common pen name of two Lithuanian sisters writers:* Sofija Ivanauskaitė-Pšibiliauskienė * Marija Ivanauskaitė-Lastauskienė...
. Marija married Belarusian literary critic and politician Vaclau Lastouski
Vaclau Lastouski
Vaclaw Lastowski was a Belarusian critic, historian of literature, and politician.Was a member of Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Has published many books about Belarus, recognized the right of the people of Belarus to self-determination...
(Lastauskas), but divorced after a few years.
Biography
Born in ŠiauliaiŠiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
, Lastauskienė grew up and spent her youth in a family estate in Paragiai. Her father was painter Nikodem Iwanowski. Her family, of Polish–Lithuanian nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
stock, was influenced by Polish culture. Therefore her native language was Polish and she had difficulties writing in Lithuanian. Lastauskienė did not have formal education and self-educated reading various Polish authors. At the age of sixteen she moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
to work as a seamstress at her aunt's shop. She later moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, before settling down in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, where her sister lived, in 1907. Encouraged by her sister, Lastauskienė began writing more actively. During World War I, the sisters moved back to their childhood home in Paragiai. In 1938 Lastauskienė moved to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, where she died in 1957. Since 1966 a museum is established in their former farmstead. In 1993 a monument to the sisters was erected in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
(sculptor Dalia Matulaitė, architects Jūras Balkevičius and Rimantas Buivydas).
Works
She began writing at the age of seventeen and her first story Bez steru (Without a Rudder) was published in a Warsaw newspaper. However, influenced by her older sister Sofija Pšibiliauskienė, Lastauskienė began writing for Lithuanian press. Pšibiliauskienė would freely edit and translate her sister's works into Lithuanian and publish under the common pen name Lazdynų Pelėda. It is unclear how many of the works published between 1905 (the first time the pen name was used) and 1927 (Sofija's death) should be attributed to Lastauskienė and how much of the original work remained after Pšibiliauskienė's edits. The public did not know that there are two people writing under the same name. Literary critics tend to treat this body of works as one item as they are similar in themes and language.After her sister's death, Lastauskienė wrote in Lithuanian and her daughter corrected the language. The first works published under her own name were short story Auka (Sacrifice, 1907–1908) and novel Šviesa ir šešėliai (Light and Shadows, 1925–1926). Influenced by Polish literature
Polish literature
Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German and...
, Lastauskienė's work share sentimental idealism and melancholy, but also have features of realism. Without formal education, her works were weaker on literary techniques, character depth, or stylistic devices, but attracted readers by offering imaginative and captivating plots. Her works usually feature a protagonist, idealist desiring a happy and peaceful life, who is broken by harsh reality: poverty, social inequality, rigid traditions, or simply unexpected accidents. Lastauskienė showed sympathy for these characters and condemned the oppressors. Lastauskienė more often depicted city dwellers, factory workers, and intelligentsia than villagers and farmers.