Nationalist and Feminist Ideas of Olena Pchilka in Her Life and Writings

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the creative and public activities of Olena Pchilka (Olha Petrovna Drahomanova-Kosach) based on a comprehensive analysis of her feminist and nationalist ideas. The research examines her literary, journalistic, and educational work as an integral ideological and worldview system in which the issue of women’s emancipation is inseparably connected with the concept of Ukrainian nation-building. The aim of the study is to provide a comprehensive exploration of Olena Pchilka’s intellectual heritage through the prism of the interrelation between feminist and nationalist motifs in her literary legacy and public engagement. The methodological framework relies on general historical methods–historical–biographical and historical–genetic–which make it possible to trace the evolution of Pchilka’s ideological positions within the socio-political processes of her time, as well as feminist approaches aimed at identifying and interpreting gender aspects of her creativity and public work. This interdisciplinary approach makes it possible to reveal the complex interconnection between nationalist and emancipatory ideas in her heritage. The article carries out a textual analysis of the writer’s key works in order to identify feminist motifs, define the image of women within the national project, and trace the ways in which she integrated gender ideas into the discourse of Ukrainian identity. Special attention is paid to Pchilka’s cultural and educational activities aimed at promoting the Ukrainian language, literature, and folklore as essential instruments of national consciousness formation. The article introduces new interpretations of her legacy into scholarly circulation, allowing Pchilka to be reconsidered beyond the family-centered perspective and viewed instead as an intellectual with a distinct nationalist position. On this basis, it is concluded that Olena Pchilka’s activities represent an important example of the synthesis of national and feminist consciousness in the context of the Ukrainian modernization movement of the early 20th century. Her journalism and prose not only document historical processes but also actively shape public perceptions of the role of women and the significance of national culture, demonstrating that women’s emancipation in Ukraine was closely intertwined with aspirations for state and cultural revival.