Madame Volkovitsky
Person Basic
Aktualizováno: 2025-11-23
Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-11-23 Diary Coverage: Book 14 (1880) Type: Person
Overview
Madame Volkovitsky was a Russian woman from Poltava who dined with the Bashkirtseff family in Paris in January 1880.
References in Diary
January 2, 1880: Marie mentions "A beautiful lady from Poltava, Mme Volkovitsky dined at our house, she saw me with a cold... Ah!! I am enraged that people tell me I'm sick."
This encounter frustrates Marie because:
- The visitor saw her while ill with a fever and cold
- Marie is sensitive about appearing sickly
- She worries about her reputation: "I have nothing wrong with my lungs and I pass for consumptive!"
- She fears being treated as an invalid
Significance
- Russian connection: From Poltava, a major city in Ukraine (then Russian Empire)
- Social visitor: Formal dinner guest, suggesting some social standing
- Witness to illness: Another person who saw Marie in weakened state
- Part of gossip network: Could spread word about Marie's health
Poltava Context
Poltava was:
- Major city in Russian-controlled Ukraine
- Administrative and cultural center
- Home to Russian landowners and nobility
- Connected to Ukrainian Cossack history
- Part of the social world the Bashkirtseff family came from
The fact that a "beautiful lady from Poltava" was visiting Paris and dining with the Bashkirtseffs suggests active social networks among Russian families living in or visiting Paris.
Research Needed
- Full name and identity
- Relationship to Bashkirtseff family
- Husband's identity and occupation
- Reason for being in Paris
- Duration of acquaintance
- Other appearances in diary