Dragojla Jarnević on her rejection and acceptance of the croatian language

The writer Dragojla Jarnević was born in Karlovac in 1812. She was very actively involved in the political and cultural events of the Illyrian movement. To her, the new age reflected also the new role a women’s, so she undertook a great deal which until then was intended only for men. She wrote patriotic poetry and prose, taught, strove for women’s education and was an alpinist.

She remained unmarried and earned her living as a teacher and a seamstress. Dragojla’s voice speaks to us most clearly from the pages of her diary which she kept from 1832 to 1874 – ranging from personal frustrations to observations regarding prominent people and events. This diary is also a unique meeting point of two languages; in it Croatian replaces German in the context of accepting the Illyrian ideas.