Albina Gabriela Puzyna (1815–1869) distinguished by a bright creative personality. She brought a kind of artistic vision of the world and stood out against the background of the literary process of the middle of the 19th century, she made it richer, more interesting and diverse.
She was born in Vilna in a wealthy family of Count Adam Gunther and Alexandra Tizengauz. She lived in the Dobrovlyany family estate of the Sventsiansk district (now the Smorgon district of the Grodno region) before marriage. The Dobrovlyansky Palace of the Gunter family became one of the cultural centres of the region, where the creative intelligentsia gathered. Frequent guests were writers I. Khodzko, A. E. Odynets, artists J. Damel, J. Rustem, scientist A. Snyadetsky, pianist M. Shimanovskaya, etc. The creative atmosphere in the family, close acquaintance with talented people contributed to the development of Gabriela's literary talent. In 1851 she married Tadeusz Puzyna. The place of residence was the estate of her husband, Gorodilovo in the Oshmyany district (now the Molodechno district of the Minsk region), where Gabriela organized a manor living room that united the best intellectual and creative forces of the region. It was attended by V. Syrokomlya, S. Moniuzsko, E. Zheligovsky, V. Mitskevich (son of A. Mitskevich).
Puzyna's literary career began with poetry; she wrote her works in Polish. In 1828 she made her debut with a poem in the Warsaw magazine "Motyl" under the cryptonym "GG". She published several collections of lyric and moralizing poems, the first of which was "In the name of God!" ("W Imię Boże!"). It was published in Vilna in 1843. Her poetry is determined by emotional spontaneity, expressiveness, the exaltation of lyrical feelings, imbued with Christian spirituality.
Gabriela Puzina is also known as a prose writer. The collections "Prose and Verse" ("Prozą i wierszem", 2 volumes, 1856), "Small but true stories" ("Małe a prawdziwe opowiadania", 1857) are her famous works. She published a book of sketches “Lithuanian children, their words, answers, observations” (“Dzieci litewskie: ich słówka, odpowiedzi, postrzeżenia”), in which she showed the poetic world of the children of the Belarusian village. She also tried her hand at drama. Some of her plays were staged in Vilna. The comedy "Either Beautiful or Rich" and the dramatic miniature "Outside the City" compiled the collection "Amateur Theater" (1861). Many plays remain in manuscripts. Puzyna's dramatic works reflect the life of the upper strata of Belarusian society, the peculiarities of the life of the wealthy nobility.
The memoirs "My Memory", created on the basis of the diary and personal correspondence of the writer, are of particular literary value. The manuscript, well illustrated with drawings, lithographs and photographs, presents a panorama of the life of all strata of society in the north-western part of Belarus and the city of Vilna, contains valuable information about the artistic life of the region. The manuscript was partially edited and published by Polish researchers in 1928 under the title “In Vilna and Lithuanian estates” (“W Wilnie iw dworach litewskich”).
The writer died in Gorodilovo, where she was buried in the crypt of the local church. The rich archive, documents and manuscripts that were stored after the death of G. Puzyna in the Pshezdecki library in Warsaw were burned down during the 1944 uprising. Her literary heritage, as well as theatrical and musical activities, introduce her to the artistic elite of her time.
Information about the life and work of the writer, information about her works can be found in the information resources of the National Library of Belarus (electronic catalog, consolidated EIR "National bibliography of Belarus", factual database "Belarus in persons and events", National database of authoritative / normative records).
Bibliology Research Department
