"Lumírovci k večeři"
"The Lumír Set for Dinner"

Summary/Abstract: The struggle between Eliška Krásnohorská (1847–1926) and the proponents of the monthly Lumír, including Josef Václav Sládek (1845–1912) and Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912), clearly reflects the situation amongst Czech critics and of Krásnohorská herself in late 1870s and early 1880s. By considering Krásnohorská’s efforts, the article seeks to examine the well-known dispute, which took place in the periodicals of the times, in associations of artists like the Umělecká beseda, at private meetings, and of course in private correspondence. The bone of contention was the nature of criticism, the new aesthetics, and the power of literature. Among other things, this had a suppressed gender aspect, since it had to do with a woman’s right to be a critic, though her position was advantageously supported by nationalist patriotic interests. Lastly, it is noted that the Lumír proponents’ dispute overlapped with the initial difficultly Realism had making its way into Czech literature.

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