Wzór kobiety-uczonej. O wizycie Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie w Stanach Zjednoczonych

Abstract

The work elaborates on Marie Skłodowska-Curie’s trip to the United States and its phenomenon, which took place thanks to the collaboration with a journalist Marie Mattingly Meloney. The author of the article reflects on the reasons behind Curie’s journey and her unexpected popularity on her return. The work formulates a thesis that the journey itself perfectly coincided with the time of growing changes in the American outlook on life and on women in particular. It was the time of radical views concerning the role of women as inferior in the society clashing with the newly created feminism combined with popular Darwinism. The article elaborates on the influence of Curie’s stay on the minds of American women during her journey and the impact of her legacy on American women’s minds many years after. The work also brings to light the concealment of the inconvenient facts which could result in the negative portrayal of Marie Curie – a phenomenal woman, mother and scientist.