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Božena Němcová | |
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 Božena Němcová - engraving byJan Vilímek | |
| Born | Barbora Novotná (1820-02-04)4 February 1820 ? |
| Died | 21 January 1862(1862-01-21) (aged 41) |
| Resting place | Vyšehrad Cemetery |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Literary movement | Czech National Revival |
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Božena Němcová (Czech pronunciation:[ˈboʒɛnaˈɲɛmt͡sovaː]) (4 February 1820[citation needed] inVienna – 21 January 1862 inPrague) was aCzech writer of the final phase of theCzech National Revival movement.
Her image is featured on the 500CZK denomination of the Česká koruna.
According to the dating up to now accepted by the majority of Czech authors, Božena Němcová was born in 1820 asBarbara Pankl (orBarbora Panklová according to the usual Czech name-giving for women) inVienna as a daughter of Johann Pankl fromLower Austria and Teresie Novotná, a maid ofBohemian origin. In her childhood she lived near the small town ofRatibořice, where her grandmother Magdalena Novotná played an important part in her life. Němcová would later write her most famous novel with the main character inspired by her grandmother.
When she was 17 years old, she married Josef Němec, fifteen years her senior, who worked as a customs officer and was therefore a state employee. The marriage was arranged by Barbora's parents and became an unhappy one, as the married couple did not understand each other very well. Němec was said to be a rude and authoritarian man. He was a Bohemian patriot, which did not sit well with his superiors, and he was often transferred to different locations and later lost his job. The couple had four children and suffered from a lack of money. Němcová died in poverty, estranged from her husband. She is said to have been in an intimate relationship with the poetVáclav Bolemír Nebeský.[1] The Bohemian patriots arranged a magnificent funeral for her.
Some authors question the birthdate (the preserved documents differ) and the real origin of Božena Němcová. According to one hypothesis, Němcová could have been born three to four years earlier than previously thought, and been an illegitimate daughter ofWilhelmine, Duchess of Sagan (1781–1839). Helena Sobková, a writer of popular-history books about Němcová, believes that Němcová may actually have been the niece of Wilhelmine. In 1816 an illegitimate daughter was born to Wilhelmine's younger sister,Dorothée de Talleyrand-Périgord, and Count Karl Johann ofClam-Martinic (1792–1840) in Bourbon-l'Archambault (a French spa). The child was not officially recognized by its mother; it was registered as Marie-Henriette Dessalles.[2] The child's further fate is unknown, and it is possible that Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan later gave the girl to Němcová's parents to raise her as their own child under the name Barbora Panklová.
None of these speculations, however, have been definitely proven by serious historical research.
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