J. Juškytė – savamokslė pedagogė, visuomenininkė, spaudos darbuotoja ir platintoja, artimai
bendravusi su pagrindiniais tautinio atgimimo veikėjais, dirbusi tuos pačius tautos išlikimo darbus, šiandien
yra nepelnytai primiršta. Apie jos gyvenimą, darbus, palaikytus ryšius su amžininkais, platų bendradarbių
ratą randame nemažai užuominų. Keliamas klausimas, kas buvo toji J. Juškytė, koks jos vaidmuo tautiniame
atgimime, kokie veiklos ir darbų atspindžiai saugomi Lietuvos mokslų akademijos Vrublevskių bibliotekoje?
Siekiama atskleisti ne visai tipinį atvejį – moters bajorės apsisprendimą dalyvauti tautiniame atgimime,
tautos ir valstybės gyvenime, kartu parodyti jos nuveiktų darbų reikšmę, remiantis rankraštiniu palikimu,
saugomu Lietuvos MA Vrublevskių bibliotekoje.
Jadvyga Juškytė was a self-taught educator, public activist, writer and distributor of Lithuanian printed
matter. Even though she maintained close contacts with main figures of the National Revival and her hard
work contributed to the cause of National Survival, J. Juškytė has undeservedly been forgotten. Various
sources contain many mentions of her life, work, relations with contemporaries, and wide circle of collaborators.
So, a question arises: who was this Jadvyga Juškytė, what was her role in the National Revival, and how
her activities may be reflected in the documents kept in the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy
of Sciences (LMAVB)? This article offers a discussion of the unusual case of a noblewoman who decided to
participate in the National Revival, caring deeply about the nation and state. The significance of J. Juškytė’s
work efforts is shown based on her manuscript heritage kept in LMAVB.
Both the documents kept in LMAVB and previously published materials show in a new light Juškytė’s most
important works: books for teachers and textbooks for the emerging Lithuanian school, a prayerbook written
in correct Lithuanian (one of the very first Lithuanian prayerbooks), articles, literary endeavours, translations
into Lithuanian, folklore studies, unfulfilled projects. At the same time, the article clarifies some facts of
the biographies of other activists in the National Revival, for example, Juškytė’s correspondence with Vaižgantas
is dated to an earlier time. Studying Juškytė’s collaboration with such figures as Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė,
Felicija Bortkevičienė, Žemaitė, Liudvika Didžiulienė, Povilas Višinskis, Vincas Kudirka, Jonas Basanavičius
and others gives insights into the rudiments of the emerging Lithuanian intelligentsia. The Žiburėlis society
united women for the cause of support and promotion of science, Povilas Višinskis’ Academy, to culturalintellectual
work. Jonas Basanavičius’ call to collect folklore, a testimony to the life of Lithuanians of old, also
fell on receptive ears. A considerable number of publications prepared by Juškytė became part of the history
of Lithuanian literature and education. Today, Juškytė’s legacy is of interest to literary scientists, educators,
ethnologists, historians, as well as researchers in gender studies.
