The following excerpts are from the chapter entitled “Women’s Virtues” by Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak, “Peasants. A story about our grandmothers”, which was published by Marginesy publishing house.
In Jurgów in Spisz, long after the Second World War, the inhabitants told each other about one such woman who went to spinners, and there she played with a different man each time. One day her husband caught her doing it. He suddenly appeared in a house where women were spinning while his wife was dancing with her boyfriend. Before he beat her, he knocked the scarf off her head.
Since 1929, a man and a woman have taken the same vow. It doesn’t change anything
Until 1928, a Polish woman taking her marriage vows in front of the altar of the Catholic Church still utters a different version than the one uttered by her husband. Her oath is: “I, …, take you, …, as my spouse, and I pledge you love, faith, honesty and marital obedienceand that I will not leave you until death. So help me, Lord God almighty in the Trinity, one and all saints. Since 1929, a woman and a man in Poland have made the same vow.
A woman only needs to understand what her duty is and simply fulfill it, because a good mother and housewife not only organizes the house, but is also responsible for the atmosphere that prevails in it. “She should do her best to make the family’s stay in the cottage more pleasant. Do not nag, do not nag all day long about anything” – Antoszka admonishes in the guide “Przy Kądziela: talks for women about important matters”. Don’t complain, don’t protest, nod.
The language of the village women betrays their attitude towards these teachings. “My husband didn’t make me go to the fields” – they say, happy that he is such a good man. “He didn’t chase me in the field” – they boast, appreciating the goodness of his character. And if, in addition, the peasant does not drink and does not use violence, he comes close to the ideal.
Unspeakable suffering of young women
Beating is an internal matter of the family, violence in rural houses can last for years, it is very well tamed, almost everyone experienced it in childhood and most feel that it is something necessary as a means of education or at least normal, and since the power from the father’s hands changes into husband’s hands, the methods remain the same.
Dark stories that happen in rural cottages rarely reach outsiders, and even when the village guesses, it does not react. So unexplored and probably never told were the sufferings of young girls who were sexually abused in their families. We do not know the scale of incest in the pre-war village, but based on the press reports of the time, we can guess that the problem concerned many girls. Only those cases that came to light for special reasons were published in the press.
In 1927, the press reports on the case of twenty-two-year-old Anna O. from the village of Uhorniki near Stanisławów. The girl had intercourse with her father for many months, who threatened her with death if she refused. When she gave birth to his child, he tried to force her to kill him. Since she did not want to do it, he decided to get rid of it himself and, as described by “Express Wieczorny Ilustrowany”, kicked the infant “with all his might in the stomach and caused its death after five hours of agony”.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
