LISTY MARII Z GNIEWOSZÓW HARSDORFOWEJ DO HELENY MYCIELSKIEJ. CZ. V. LISTY OD 3 II 1903 DO 12 XII 1906

The fifth part ofletters by Maria Harsdorf nee Gniewosz covers the very sad, last period ofher friendship with Helena Mycielska from the region ofWielkopolska. It was in this period that the letters’ authors father died, soon and rather unexpectedly followed by her husband, Tadeusz Harsdorf. In about 1910, Maria’s short life also came to an end. In her last letters, Maria devoted a lot of space to her family, expressing concern about the condition ofher parents, and in particular her seriously ill father. She often told her friend about the great loneliness she experienced after her husband’s death. As a deeply religious person, she believed that everything in her life happened out of God’s will and she consented to it. Despite the tragic experience, she was vividly interested in the congregation for the local female land owners, which was established in 1902, and she even agreed to become their president. As a result, she was in close contact with Józef Teodorowicz, a Lvov archbishop of Armenian rite. She remained interested in the activity of Polish “feminists”, although she was always critical about it. She described difficult moments connected with the agricultural strikes in 1906. She recalled the books she had read: mainly religious and philosophical ones. She shared her thoughts concerning her trips undertaken in order to repair her constantly deteriorating health. She dreamed of going to Italy together with Helena - a trip which subsequently never happened. The two friends never met again either, although Maria very often wrote how much she wanted their encounter and referred to it.