“At the Waters”: A Landed Woman in a 19th-Century Spa. The Letters of Stefania née Lemańska Rzewuska to Her Husband from Her Stays in Foreign Health Resorts

Abstract

Drawing on the epistolary theories of Elżbieta Rybicka, Stefania Skwarczyńska, and Anita Całek, this article analyzes the correspondence of Stefania née Lemańska Rzewuska, written to her husband Wacław between 1886 and 1891, during her stays in foreign health resorts such as San Remo, Meran, and Neumarkt in der Steiermark, where she spent long months undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. The study focuses on the anthropological and communicative aspects of these letters and their place within the sociology of literature, which centers on the emotional and communicative human subject. The letters serve as a document of a specific historical, social, and literary reality and provide valuable insight into the spa culture of the late 19th century. They allow for the reconstruction of the course of tuberculosis, its accompanying ailments, and contemporary methods of treatment. It appears that the main therapeutic method against tuberculosis at the time was climatic therapy, based on breathing fresh air, physical activity, and walks, supported by a specific diet that included various types of alcohol, kefir, milk, cod-liver oil, and even cigarettes. Due to her health and financial limitations, Stefania did not actively participate in the cultural life of the spa. She constantly longed for her home and husband. Her letters served as a means of continuous communication between the spouses, separated by a thousand kilometers, and became a way of building a relationship based on love and partnership. They also functioned as a form of psychological therapy for both. Stefania ultimately lost her battle with tuberculosis, dying at the age of 36. Her letters fit well into the history of 19th-century customs and the history of medicine, particularly the struggle against tuberculosis – the so-called “white plague”.