Fortitude and creativity of Maria Grzegorzewska in overcoming barriers standing in the way of her education

This article describes the first stage of Maria Grzegorzewska's difficult path to education against the background of the socio-political conditions in the Kingdom of Poland at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with particular emphasis on teaching at home and in private Scientific Institutes of Jadwiga Kotwicka and Paulina Hewelke, studies at the Society for Scientific Courses conducted by Ludwik Krzywicki, studies as a hospitant at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jagiellonian University, work as a home teacher and social activity to popularize knowledge among the poor population of Warsaw and Krakow.