The violence in women’s private space: mother and daughter (Jędza by Eliza Orzeszkowa)

Abstract

The article raises the problem of female tyranny in private space, in mother-daughter relationships. The author discusses and interprets these relationships as violent behavior of the mother (perpetrator) towards her daughter (victim), taking the form of emotional, psychological, and verbal domestic violence. A little-known novel Jędza by Eliza Orzeszkowa, written in 1889 and published in 1891 makes the basis for this discussion. The analyzes and interpretations carried out show that this kind of violence is registered in fiction, thus refuting stereotypes and patterns regarding female non-aggression, illustrating the face of the mother as a despot, a tormentor who, in close contact with her daughter, becomes an oppressor and harmer.