From Friendships in Girlhood to Women’s Service to the Homeland and Society. On Coming of Age and Relationships within the Circle of the Claudines (Klaudynki)

In the difficult Polish realities of the 19th century, Polish women were not indifferent to the affairs of the homeland. Regardless of age, service to the homeland became a particularly important issue for them. Girls who were educated at the Lviv boarding school of Felicia Boberska, née Wasilewska, owed to her – in addition to knowledge – a patriotic upbringing. Girls’ friendship became the basis for the formation of strong ties, which soon turned into wide-ranging social activities, the education of the people and the awakening of the national spirit. An example of commitment can be seen in the founding of the Klaudyna Potocka Association by Wanda Dybowska, Julia Dzierżanowska and Zofia Romanowiczówna. During the January Uprising, their activities under the name of the Association of Polish Women Sisters of Klaudia took the form of organized assistance to the fighting men. The youthful impulse, at first somewhat naive and timid, transformed into a mature act and resulted in concrete actions for the benefit of society. Mutual relations also strengthened, and common ideals fostered the formation of attitudes. On the basis of the youthful Klaudyna Potocka Association, higher organized structures were later formed: Association of Active Women, Circle of Hearty Women, Women’s Savings Society, Committee of Polish Women. Tracing the formation of relations in the Klaudyna circle is possible based on Zofia Romanowiczówna’s publications, fragments of letters, mentions in the press and studies of women’s activities in Galicia in the 19th century.