Wiśniewska, Dorota <br/><br/>
Being a female citizen in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Enlightenment 

 -  2023.<br/>							 
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<br/><br/> This paper characterizes the citizenship of noblewomen in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the second half of the eighteenth century. It describes elite women’s relationship with the state, their sense of national belonging, and their attachment to the places they lived. It also sheds light on men’s perceptions of women’s involvement in public life and their citizenship, as well as the similarities and particularities of the Polish-Lithuanian context in relation to the West. Focusing on female correspondence, the article shows that noblewomen in Poland-Lithuania were not only officially granted the status of citizens, but also felt included in national politics and manifested their patriotism. They acted for the common good, which they considered to be in line with private and family interests. The republican regime, the influence of the Enlightenment, and specific circumstances resulting from the partitions facilitated their inclusion, but they did not contest their social position. They were well aware of their subordination to men, but since their families and the Church had inculcated a patriarchal worldview in them from an early age, it did not occur to women to oppose it. And as the “Polish Revolution” (1788–1792) was led by the nobility, the question of granting citizenship to all women did not arise in the public debate.