“You will always remember the day of May 4,” [Olena Pchilka]
Olha Franko was born in 1864 in Bibrky, Zinkiv district, Poltava province. She graduated from the Institute of Noble Girls in Kharkiv and the Kyiv Higher Women's Courses, Department of History and Philology.
During her studies, she lived in the family of Yelisey Tregubov, the husband of her sister Antonina, then a teacher at the Pavlo Halahan College and an active member of the “Stara Hromada” of Kyiv, which greatly contributed to Olha's interest in the Ukrainian idea. Ivan Franko met Olha at the Tregubovs' in the winter of 1885 during his first trip to Kyiv, and in September 1885, he proposed to her by letter. Olha Khoruzhynska and Ivan Franko were married in Kyiv on May 4, 1886.
“She was an exemplary woman and mother” [Valeriia Kotsovska]
Olha Franko helped her husband in every way possible in his literary work, proofread many of his works, handled his correspondence in his absence, and settled all kinds of financial issues with publishers. She was very proud of her husband. She completely adopted his lifestyle, hobbies, and preferences.
Olga Franko lived not only her husband's life but also their four children's lives (Andriy, Taras, Petro, and Anna). She was a kind and caring mother, was proud of their success, and cared for their development as best she could. Instead, Ivan Franko's great merit was supporting his wife in her interest in Ukrainian affairs, involving her in cultural and social life, and shaping her identity and national consciousness.
“Kobrynska and I discuss the women's issue.”Olha Franko - pioneer of the women's movement in Galicia
Olha Franko is the author of the article “Carpathian Boykos and Their Family Life,” published in the women's almanac “First Wreath,” a member of the Prosvita Society, one of the initiators of the Rusynka Club in Lviv, and an active participant in women's meetings in Lviv. She corresponded with Natalia Kobrynska, Olha Kobylianska, Olena Pchilka, Felicia Prukhnikova, and others.
*Rusynka (masc. rusyn) means Ukrainian woman; the term was widely used in the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. Rusynka Club was an organization aimed at awakening the national emancipation of the Ukrainian people and promoting self-education for women.
“I want to develop and learn.” Olha Franko - folklorist, translator, publisher
Olha Franko's folklore and ethnographic materials appeared in the Kyivska Staryna and Zhyttia i Slovo magazines of the time, and translations from French appeared in the Literary and Scientific Bulletin. The magazine Zhyttia i Slovo was published at the expense of Olha Franko's estate, and Franko's collection From the Heights and the Lowlands was published with her financial support.
“A very tragic figure. A tender plant transplanted to stony soil” (Maria Derkach)
Gradually, Olga Franko withdrew from active social and scientific life, from helping her husband. The reason for this was the severe trials that fell to her lot in life (the death of her eldest son Andriy, a severe mental illness of a hereditary nature). Olga Franko died in July 1941. She was buried at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv near her husband's grave, Ivan Franko.
The translation from Ukrainian was created with the help of DeepL.
Listen to full lecture via link.
