On the occasion of the anniversary - 160 since the birth of Jelena J. Dimitrijevic (Serb. Jelena J. Dimitrijević, Kruševac- Beograd, 1862-1945)
Photograph of Jelena J. Dimitrijevic presented in the electronic exhibition made by the
National Library “Stevan Sremac” Niš
If the greatness of a writer is reflected in the number of written and published works, in the variety and originality of his literary work, how much he/she was appreciated during his /her lifetime by his contemporaries and readers, as well as in how long his work lives after his death, then the heroine of this story can undoubtedly be called a great writer. Great writers are never forgotten, but the heroine of this story was. For more than For more than five decades her name echoes almost inaudibly in the vast fields of Serbian literature. Since her death in 1945 she was forgotten, and her literary work was unfairly neglected.
Her name is Jelena J. Dimitrijevic, but due to her unusual destiny, her story can be given the title of Andric's novel [1] “Jelena, the woman who does not exist”.
She was born in 1862, in the golden age of Serbian culture, literature and art, and she lived to a mature age in the turbulent 20th century, marked by wars, destruction, persecution and general decadence. Destiny wanted her to go on a trip as a child, moving from one city to another, and announced what her life's obsession would be - travel. Krusevac (Serb. Kruševac), her hometown located in Central Serbia, is the first in a series of cities in which Jelena would leave an indelible mark. After the death of her father, merchant Nikola Petrović, she moved to the city of Aleksinac with her mother Stamenka, the daughter of prince Milojko, to marry a lieutenant (later a major of the royal army) Jovan Dimitrijevic at the age of 19 and settle in the city of Niš. This picturesque city in Southern Serbia, still dressed in oriental attire, exuded the scents of distant lands, eastern culture and tradition. Initially confused and unaccustomed to the world around her, the heroine of this story became more and more interested in the life and customs of Turkish women, with whom she gained great trust and deserved the honor of being a guest of Nis' harems. She transferred her experience on paper and published it in the book Letters from Nis. About Harems (1894), which is also the first prose book in the Serbian language whose author was a woman. Thanks to this book and her contribution to the presentation of old city of Nis (Serb. Niš), she was given the epithet “Writer of Nis”. This city repaid her with dignity, primarily by erecting a bust that adorns the Nis Fortress and named one street after her. Also, thanks to the admirers of her work, the book Letters from Nis about Harems (Serb. Pisma iz Niša. O haremima) was republished in 2003 and 2020.
All the published editions of the book Lettern from Nis. About harems
Jelena differed in many ways from her contemporaries. Already after the first collection of poetry, it was called “Serbian Sappho”, and in 1912, her novel New Women (Serb. „Nove”) was published by the Serbian Literary Collective, which was also the first feminist novel in Serbian literature. This, at the present time, is a very compelling novel about the rebellion of women, those who raised their voice against traditional, social disciplines and imposed patriarchal norms.
Despite of the eye injury that hindered her further education, Jelena was a self educated girl who grew into one of the most educated women at the turn of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. She spoke many foreign languages such as French, Greek, English, Turkish and her works have been translated into Czech, Russian and German. She has travelled to Europe, America, North Africa and Asia, so it is not surprising that when her name is mentioned, an antiquarian comment: “Jelena J. Dimitrijevic? I know, she is the one who has travelled all over the world”. She had the honor of meeting famous people on those trips. In the thirties of the 20th century, she met the prominent Egyptian feminist Hoda Sha'arawi, a pioneer of the feminist movement.
Hoda Sha'arawi's inscription published in Jelena's travel book
Seven seas and three oceans. Trip Around the World (Cairo, 1926)
Nowadays her books are being republished as the interest for her literary work grows. For instance, her short travel from Egypt, titled Letters from Egypt (Serb. Pisma iz Misira) which was published in was republished in 2019 in Serbia (published by the Association Alia Mundi) and translated into English (by Ana Stjelja) and Arabic (by prominent Egyptian writer and literary translator Ashraf Aboul-Yazid) and published by the Lebanese publishing house Dar Al-Nokhba.
Three editions of the travel book Letters from Egypt
During her visit to India in 1927, she met the famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, at his home in Santiniketan. She shared this unique experience with her readers in the book titled Letters from India. The book was translated into English and Hindi and republished in 2016.
Two editions of Jelena's book Letters from India
But her fascination with India didn't stop there. She also made a friendship with a noble Indian princess Ledi Meherbai Tata to whom she dedicated a poem in French titled Une vision. This Indian noble woman was the international face of the Indian women’s movement in the 1920s and a feminist icon.
Besides telling a story of a friendship between two women who actively participated in the fight for gender equality and women's rights, she also intended to pass the knowledge on some parts of the rich Indian culture, especially about the Indian ethnic group called Parsis and their customs, particularly burial ritual which fascinated her to that extent that she described in this poem.
Reading of the poem Une Vision
Thanks to these extraordinary journeys, her travel books Letters from Thessaloniki (1918), Letters from India (1928), Letters from Egypt (1929), New World or in America for a Year (1934) and Seven Seas and Three Oceans were created. Around the World (1940) still catch the attention of the new generation of readers.
It is worth mentioning that she was a member of the board of the Nis subcommittee of the Women's Society, a member of the literary board of the Belgrade newspaper Housewife (Serb. „Domaćica”), as well as an associate of numerous domestic literary magazines. During the Balkan War, she was a nurse, which confirmed her extremely expressive patriotic feeling. The fact that her song The Ardent Sun (Serb. „Sunce žarko”) received a melody and that it was sung by Serbian soldiers on the Thessaloniki front speaks in favor of that.
Jelena's poem which became a very popular song
Although she travelled frequently, she spent most of her life in Belgrade, where she moved in 1898. Her house, which still attracts the breath of passers-by, is located in the Francuska Street no. 29. Fortunately, she did not experience the fate of old buildings which, due to negligence, decayed and lost their former splendor. The house where Jelena J. Dimitrijevic lived most of her life was built on the very significant architectural unity known as “House of Leona Panajot”. In a broader sense, her house is located near a very significant spatial, cultural-historical area around Dositej's lyceum which is one of the oldest and most important urban spaces in Belgrade, formed at the end of the 18th and early 19th century and which has been declared as a cultural monument in 1989. Jelena bought the house which was part of the “House of Leona Panajot”, a family house built in 1908 and designed by the famous Serbian architect Petar Bajalović. While it is still unknown who was Leona Panajot, it is very well-known who was Jelena J. Dimitrijevic as her life and work, once neglected, again started to attract researchers and came to light.
Jelena bought the land for her Belgrade house in 1898. The reconstruction of the house started upon her arrival in Belgrade. She remodeled the house and added a floor in 1928. The house was projected by the architect Jovan J. Stanojevic. As a writer and a woman of style, she chose the concept of the style of late Art Nouveau, following the architectural style of the “House of Leona Panajot” it relies on. What is also noticeable are the balconies that were also added. They play a very important role as they were the famous place of the writer. There are many testimonies reporting that Jelena used to go out on one of these balconies and observe the people passing by her house. Maybe this was a way of relaxing from her long and exhausting trips, but also these were the moments of her contemplation, the moments when she was preparing a new book, or was about to start some new novel or plan a new trip.
Photographs of Jelena's house in Belgrade, December, 2021 (by Ana Stjelja)
It is interesting to note that Jelena, who was very wealthy, and who owned a large number of items of value in addition to the manuscript, wanted to bequeath her property to the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, but was rejected for unknown reasons. Today, part of her manuscript legacy is in the National Library of Serbia.
Photograph of Jelena Dimitrijević, National Library of Serbia, CC BY-NC-SA
In her older age Jelena J. Dimitrijevic set off on a long journey, wishing to feel the passion of travelling once again. She died in April 1945. She was buried in the New Cemetery. It is interesting that no one attended the funeral, because it was held two hours earlier than it was published in the newspapers. The fact that Jelena J. Dimitrijevic has no direct descendants, making it difficult for anyone who wants to start researching her very exciting and at times mysterious life. Still, she had cousins who continued her artistic line. One of them is her niece, another extraordinary Serbian woman Dobrila Knez Milojkovic (1900-1987), writer, journalist and benefactress. The other one is famous painter Stanislava Knez Milojkovic (1930-2017), who lived in the Slovenian city of Sezana, and who also visited Belgrade, where she exhibited her artworks.
Photograph (on the left) of Dobrila Glavinic Knez-Milojkovic
(Historical Archive of Belgrade),
Photograph (on the right) Stanislava Knez-Milojkovic (http://www.primorske.si)
Jelena J. Dimitrijevic, Serbian writer, world traveler, philanthropist, fighter for women's rights and their emancipation, a lady who bravely walked the world of literature that was then, but unfortunately now, in favor of men, deserved her name to be forgotten. In order to achieve that, an initiative was launched to place a memorial plaque on the house where she created and spent most of her life. In 2022 it's been 160 years since her birth. It would be significant if the city of Belgrade decided to celebrate Jelena's jubilee by putting a memorial plaque on her house. The city of Belgrade would get on another landmark on its tourist map. Maybe soon some tourist guide, while standing in front of her house and memorial plaque, will say to curious tourists and world travelers: "In this house lived Serbian writer, world traveler and benefactress Jelena J. Dimitrijevic!”
[1] It refers to the novel titled “Jelena, the woman who doesnʼt exist” written by the Serbian Nobel Prize Laureate Ivo Andrić.
This text by Dr Ana Stjelja (who defended a PhD on the life and work of Jelena J. Dimitrijevic, 2012) was written on the occasion of the celebration of the 160th anniversary since the birth of the writer, as a part of the project The Women's History Month by Europeana
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