The Mother of
Helena P. Blavatsky
Was a Russian Writer
and a Pioneer Thinker
Lydia Bobritsky (comp.)
Lydia Bobritsky (comp.)
“The man with a higher intellect is
intolerable enough to this world, but the
position of a woman, who has been placed by
Nature itself above the crowd is verily desperate.”
(Helena Andreevna
Hahn)
A 2012 Editorial Note:
Life could be quick
in the 19th century.
Helena Andreevna Fadeev was born 11 January 1814. At
16, she got married to Captain Peter Hahn. She was only 17 years old when her
daughter Helena Petrovna, later Helena Blavatsky, was born in 1831.
With little more than 20 years of age, Helena
Andreevna Hahn was considered the leading female writer of prose fiction in
Russia. [1] Celebrated critics, as
A. Belinsky, wrote articles on her. She then died at 28, on June 24, 1843.
Belinsky wrote this epitaph to her:
“Peace be unto your ashes, extraordinary woman, victim
of the rich talents of your own lofty nature! ….. We thank you for your short
life. Not in vain did it bloom like a luxurious, fragrant flower of profound
feelings and lofty thoughts. Your soul is in this flower and there will be no
death for it!” [2]
In her novels and short stories, Helena Andreevna wrote
about the organized selfishness of society.
She said:
“Every outstanding woman, especially a writer, will be
persecuted by the world … Her gifts of intellect, her talents all are in vain
before the crowd; she will be like a criminal rejected by society.”[3] Helena Petrovna would soon challenge
the world in a similar way as her mother did, and would experience the meaning
of those sad words; for such were the conditions in the 19th century.
We reproduce in PDF the article “Helena Andreevna Hahn” from the magazine “The Theosophical Forum”, August 1948 edition pp. 449-457. The text was
translated and compiled by Lydia Bobritsky from the Preface to the “Complete Works of Elena A. Hahn”,
published in 1905.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
NOTES:
[1] “Dictionary of Russian Women Writers”, available
online.
[2] “HPB - The Extraordinary Life
and Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern Theosophical
Movement”, Sylvia Cranston, published by Jeremy Tarcher / G.P. Putnam’s Sons,
New York, USA, 1993, 648 pp., p. 23.
[3] “HPB - The Extraordinary Life
and Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern Theosophical
Movement”, Sylvia Cranston, p. 24.
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On the role of the esoteric movement in
the ethical awakening of mankind during the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical
Literature”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in
2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist,
the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
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