Neišsipildžiusio gyvenimo vaizdas Lazdynų Pelėdos autobiografijoje
View of Unfulfilled Life in Autobiography of Lazdynų Pelėda

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the autobiography of Sofija-Pšibiliauskienė (Lazdynų Pelėda) as well as other texts attributed to autobiographical writing. The emphasis is placed on the relationship between own life of a woman self and her family, which is based on non-presupposing reflection and negative emotional impulse, without even attempting to raise questions concerning the causes for such unfulfilled life. The letters by Sofija Pšibiliauskienė, the autobiography Iš praeities and the autobiographical novel Praeities šmėklos of her sister, used in this article reveal the atmosphere of restrictions related to womankind, which was typical of the 19th when both sisters were brought up and educated. Lazdynų Pelėda sought to escape the private environment of home; however, she was never able to fully refuse it. She desired to master new roles associated with an active and creative woman, and to establish such values requiring painful choices as Lithuanity, education, and economic independence by living her own life correspondingly. The latter two values were characteristic not only of Lithuanian women writers but also of the 19th century European women writers. The autobiography of Lazdynų Pelėda reflects one more feature related to feminine autobiographies, i.e., a fragmented speech, which tends to conceal rather than put everything openly in words, and, thus, stands in contrast to linear and chronological masculine narrative, exclusively associated with the values of public sphere.

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