VEIKLIOS MOTERS KASDIENYBĖ: EPIZODAS IŠ IZABELĖS LIUDVIKOS BORCH-PLIATERIENĖS (1752–1813) GYVENIMO

On the basis of empirical sources the article analyses the daily life of a noblewoman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Izabela Ludwika Borch Platerowa (1752–1813), with a special focus on several elements of the daily life of the late eighteenth century woman of the elite: time management and daily routine, food and diet, health (illnesses and their treatment), and relationships with family members (husband, children, parents) and the near environment. The article underlines the network of communication of the duchess Platerowa in a given period, covering not only family members or the spiritual and political elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Livonia but also artists residing in Warsaw, among them closest being Italian born artist and poet Antoni Albertrandy (ca. 1733–1795) from the court of the King Stanislaw August, and his family. Despite the micro-world of Izabela Ludwika Platerowa being framed within two socially important factors of the time, i.e. social status of a noblewoman and her gender, which would confine the field of activities of a woman to the privacy of a home-space, the ties of partnership, love and respect, linking husband and wife in the Plater family, opened wide opportunities for the creative activities of the woman. As active and educated woman of the Enlightenment, she managed to cross the frame of her home-space and dedicate large portion of her time to important public activities: editing of a special reading publication for children Przyjaciel dzieci (A Friend of Children), on which she intensely worked 6–8 hours every day. Schedule of the duchess was occupied with Masses, teaching of children and translations. Personal needs and entertainment received very little attention, only from a quarter to half an hour a day. In the period of Lent very strict fasting was observed, as well as abstinence from any entertainment, including full renouncing of music. Keywords: Izabela Ludwika Borch Platerowa (1752–1813), daily life, family, history of women.