"UNORDINARY" WOMAN OF IRON MANNERS: OLENA PCHILKA IN THE EYES OF HER CONTEMPORARIES (ON THE MATERIALS OF THE MEMOIRS ABOUT THE WRITER)

Abstract

In the article, the author offers fragmentary memories about Olha Petrivna Drahomanova-Kosach on the eve of the 170th anniversary of her birth. The methodological basis of the work is the complex approach to understanding Olena Pchilka’s personality in the light of the memories of her relatives, acquaintances, and colleagues. The relevance of the article is caused by the increasing interest of scholars in such memoirs in general and the need to study the life of Olena Pchilka as a writer, scientist, editor, publisher and an active public figure in particular. The author portrays Olha Drahomanova-Kosach emphasizing the basic human qualities of her character and with the aim of a further perspective of compiling her biography. The materials of the study will also help to deeper estimate Elena Pchilka, who is traditionally until nowadays, regarded only in the context of researching the life and literary activities of her daughter, Lesia Ukrainka. Keywords Olena Pchilka, biography, memoirs, contemporaries, family, portrait.