ABSTRACT
The purpose of the chapter was to present the ways in which women from different national, cultural, and social backgrounds in the north-eastern Adriatic experienced intellectual work and what the reception and conditions of this work were like. At the same time, the chapter highlights several common themes and experiences of women intellectuals from this area who were active in the transitional periods after the First and Second World Wars. Due to the individuality of intellectual labor and the uniqueness of the artistic work of each of the discussed women, it is impossible to unify their experiences. One can, however, note certain similarities connected to their gender: the combination of intellectual and care-giving work; their coexistence in both the private and public “spheres;” the occasional or even frequent trivialization of their work by the established public; and the hidden intellectual, emotional, and political labor that they often did for the men with whom they were in relationships. Using the examples of individual women, the chapter also deconstructs some tropes that have taken root in the field of the history of ideas, especially the concepts of separate spheres, individuality, originality, and genius. The findings presented are only the first step towards a transnational intellectual history that goes beyond the nationally bounded historiography that has the ideas of “great men” at its center.
