Paulina Kuczalska-Reinschmit and Ster (1895–97, 1907–14): Editing at the Service of Polish Women’s Rights

Abstract

In this article, I focus on the Polish editor, publisher, and women’s rights activist Paulina Kuczalska-Reinschmit (1859–1921) and Ster [Helm] (1895–97, 1907–14). I first discusses the major elements of Kuczalska-Reinschmit’s biography and her motivation to establish her own magazine. In the second part, I move on to a discussion of her progressive ideas about women’s educational and economic emancipation and an analysis of selected articles in the first series of Ster, which was published in Lviv from 1895 to 1897. Editing Ster enabled Kuczalska-Reinschmit to gathered prominent intellectual figures in the fight for gender equality and women’s rights. Among the successes of her editorial project was the reform of female gymnasiums, which was strongly supported by Ster’s circle.