Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36
OUR LIFE MONTHLY , published by Ukrainian National Womens League of America Vol. XXX. ________ M ARCH, 1973 No. 3 The Women in Shevchenko's Life All U krainians know Shev chenko th e poet and cham pion of hum an rig h ts — b u t few .know him as a hum an being and few er still know w h at an im p o rtan t p a rt women played in th e life and creative w ork of th is genius. The loss of his m other w hen he w as nine y ears old, and th e com ing of a step m o th er w ith th re e of h er own children s h o rt ly a fte r, b ro u g h t Shevchenko closer to his own th re e siste rs who w ere very kind and ten der tow ards him and who defended him ag ain st his step m o th er’s w rath . H is poem “K a ty ry n a ” is dedicated to his siste r C atherine, and his ten d er relationship w ith his youngest sister, Irene, is b est seen in th e poem “S estri” (To a S is te r). Shevchenko’s f irs t love w as O xana w hom he firs t saw w hen he w as th irteen . H e w as g razin g sheep beyond th e village and w as overcom e w ith te a rs a t th e su d den realization th a t he possessed nothing, w hen a girl w ho had been picking hem p cam e to him , consoled him and kissed his cheek. T his g irl does n o t leave his m em ory th ro u g h o u t h is life. H e speaks of th is m em ory in his poem “To O xana K .” and O xana appears in several of his w orks w ritten th ro u g h o u t his life. In all th e wom en th a t he m et d u r in g his lifetim e, he alw ays un consciously searched fo r th a t som ething th a t would rem ind him of his “pleasant, curly O x an a.” Some years la te r in a sh o rt sta y in L ithuania, w hile in th e service of th e E n g elh ard ts, he fell in love w ith a P olish seam stress who paid a lot of atten tio n to him . B u t Shevchenko’s m aster le ft L ith u an ia fo r P etersb u rg w here Shevchenko soon g o t a c quainted w ith well-known U krainians and la te r w ith a fa m ous R ussian poet Zhukovsky and a well know n a t th e tim e p ain ter Bruelov. T hrough th e ef fo rts of th ese tw o men, S hev chenko’s freedom w as bo ug h t in 1938. Shevchenko had been given a r t in stru ction s while still in th e E n g elh a rd t’s service — he now continued a t th e A cadem y of A rts, receiving a silver m edal. Of his new life Shevchenko w rote “You dress y ourself well, go to th e th e a tre , listen to concerts, live am ong good th o u g h tfu l peo ple; in one word, you b ask in a paradise — b u t w h at is h ap pening there, a t your hom e in U kraine ?” In such m om ents of introspec tion, w hich increased w ith tim e, he would stop p ain tin g and so cializing, lock him self in his room and w rite verses. I t w as a t one of th ese tim es th a t he w rote w h at has become one of th e m ost popular of U k rainian songs — “Oh D nieper.” T he firs t col lection of Shevchenko’s poem s — “K obzar” — includes several bal lads and verses on ill-fated and u nrequited love — like “Topo- lya,” “K a ta ry n a.” H is g re a te st poem, “H aydam aky,” appeared th e y ear a fte r “K obzar” was printed. T hese tw o w orks m ade Shevchenko fam ous th ro u g h o u t U kraine. In 1843 Shevchenko re tu rn ed to U kraine — he had le ft a 15 y ear old, ragg ed slave — he w as re tu rn in g , a free, m atu re, well dressed m an. H e w as now an honored guest, and as such, even tually m et th e P rince and P rin c ess Repnin. P rincess B arb a ra R epnin w as a ttra c te d to Shev chenko and a stro n g affectio n ate bond grew betw een th em despite th e fa c t th a t th e P rincess w as m uch older. T h eir frien dship re m ained platonic and deeply a f fectio nate th ro u g h o u t Shevchen ko’s life. R etu rn in g to P etersb urg, Shev chenko com pleted his studies w ith a diploma, in A rt from th e A cadem y. T his w as th e y ear (1845) of his g re a te s t produc tiv ity and his g re a te s t revolt ag ain st th e u n ju s t social order. Shevchenko continued w ritin g poem s of p ro te st although m any w riters w ere being arrested . H is tim e finally cam e and in 1847 he w as sentenced to com pulsory m ilitary service in th e K irghiz Steppes under prohibition to w rite or draw . H ow ever he did m anage, under g re a t difficul ties, to compose a whole cycle of lyric poem s full of longing fo r his n ative land. The P rincess R epnin w rote to Shevchenko during th is exile and attem p ted to intervene on his b eh alf several tim es. A change of com m and a t one of th e fo rts to w hich Shevchen ko had been sent, b ro u g h t a new love into his life — th e com m an d er’s young w ife A gatha. Shevchenko w as a g u est m any tim es of th is m ore lenient of ficer’s fam ily and p ainted A g a th a ’s p o rtra it, du ring w hich tim e he fell in love w ith her. T h eir a ttac h m e n t soon becam e an item of gossip and A g a th a broke o ff th e relation sh ip abruptly. Shevchenko w as h u rt b u t th is blow m ade him look a t w om en m ore soberly. A lthough he adm itted th a t no once could live w ith o u t love — especially an a rtis t. T hrough th e effo rts of his friend s and followers, am ong w hom w as th e w ife of A. K. Tol stoy, Shevchenko w as released in M ay 1857. W hile w aitin g fo r perm ission to re tu rn to P e te rs burg, Shevchenko m et and be- HALUE ЖИТТЯ — БЕРЕЗЕНЬ, 1973 27
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36 
