Literature – Georgia

Ekaterine Tarkhnishvi-Gabashvili was a writer and public figure who was committed to the advancement of women’s education and emancipation. She is widely regarded as one of the first Georgian feminists and women’s rights activists.

She was born in Gori in 1851. Her first piece of work “A Peasant’s Opinion on the Rural School” was published in the newspaper Droeba in 1870.

Ekaterine Tarkhnishvili-Gabashvili is a leading figure in Georgian critical realism. She was one of the first writers to introduce short prose genres into Georgian literature, such as the short story, novella, miniature and picture. Examples of her work in this genre include The Family Tower, The Victorious Niko, and The Wine Has Flowed.

Many of her stories address women's issues, such as women’s emancipation, their role in the family and in society, and their upbringing and education. Her female protagonists are frequently marginalised or excluded from society.

Fuelled by her immense love for children, Ekaterine made a significant contribution to the development of Georgian children's literature. Her children's stories have long been included in Georgian school textbooks. She organised the publication of the children’s magazine Jejili and later became one of its most active members.

In the 1890s, the issue of establishing the first women's vocational school was raised in a narrow circle of women. In 1895, she set up a five-year needlework school for women in her house in Tbilisi, which she ran for 15 years. The school also offered general education subjects. Ekaterine taught poor children to read and write for free and helped women access primary education.

Bonus Trivia!

In 1956, Magdana's Donkey (original title: Lurdža Magdany), a film based on Ekaterine's remarkable novel of the same name and directed by Tengiz Abuladze and Revaz Chkheidze, won the Best Fiction Film – Short award (Prix du film de fiction - court métrage) at the Cannes Film Festival.

Sources: http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ilia/ka/00000542/

http://www.nplg.gov.ge/bios/ka/00000813/

https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/retrospective/1956/awards/

Images taken from: http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ilia/ka/00000542/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048324/

Image No 2: Poster for the film “Magdana's Donkey” (original title: Lurdža Magdany), 1955

#ICBSS #MoC2025 #CultureBSEC #Georgia #Literature