-THE HIDDEN LIGHT-
Sofia Kovalevskaya
WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN RUSSIA
Historical Background
During Sofia’s lifetime women did not receive equal treatment to men. In most countries married women were not allowed to own property and their identities were based solely on their husband. “A good wife was described as a woman who spoke little, worked hard, and put up with her husband”(Boyd). Also, in Russia, the opportunity of a woman to receive advanced education was not granted until the 1870s.
So it seemed that a woman could not become successful alone, because she did not have the opportunity to become educated, and did not have the chance to become successful through marriage because she was completely subjected to her husband.
Sofia experienced setbacks because of her gender throughout her entire life. But despite the society’s pressure of gender stereotypes, Sofia accomplished many astounding tasks. A strong advocate of women’s rights, “Sonya and her sister Anyuta were part of a young people’s movement to promote the emancipation of women in Russia” (Lewis). Realizing that she wanted to continue to pursue
mathematics, Sofia searched for a university that
would allow her to attend. However the Russian
university’s declined her. Not letting this prohibit her
from achieving her goals, Sofia left her homeland and
travelled “to Heidelberg, Germany, Kovalevskaya went to
Vienna, Austria, and Anyuta went to Paris, France”, all to
study mathematics (Lewis). Even though Sofia was no
longer in Russia she continued to be undermined
because of her gender. In fact, Sofia, “could not be admitted to university lectures,” just because she was a woman (Kovalevsky). Showing her extreme genius and perseverance, Sofia went on from this point to become the “first woman to hold a university chair in modern Europe” and “first woman on the editorial staff of a mathematical journal” (Lewis).
