Divá Bára a jiné dívky na útěku – Němcová Božena (2019)

The collection of stories, compiled, arranged, and prefaced by literary historian Jaroslava Janáčková from the mature prose of Božena Němcová, congenially connects the idea of a girl-woman on the run with the writer's own escapes. The motif of flight, resistance, and the need for free choice in life is most intensely reflected in the riddle-laden lyrical prose of Four Seasons. Until recently, many understood it as merely the author's autobiographical confession, reminiscent of a private letter. It was only on the threshold of the 21st century that Four Seasons was fully recognized for its undeniable intellectual and artistic exclusivity. B. Němcová, in this unusually bold and open prose (perhaps for the first time), decided to express the modern woman's revolt against blind social conventions, against which she had persistently and courageously defined herself throughout her life. She uniquely imprinted her own need for freedom, independence, and self-realization into it. The motif of a distinctive liberating 'escape' also connects her other female characters in our collection - Bára (Wild Bára), Madla (A Good Person), Katuška (Cottages in the Mountains), and Verunka (The Way from the Pilgrimage).