Elämä aatteiden puolesta [Finnish]

By Malwida von Meysenbug

How does a life become an argument for freedom? Told in the first person, this memoir traces an intellectual and moral awakening shaped by conflicts over conscience, belief and independence. Private recollection opens into searching political and philosophical commentary as the narrator examines the ideals that drew her towards democracy, women's emancipation and practical social reform. Her doubts and convictions are not treated as abstractions, but as forces that determine how one learns, works and participates in society. The revolutionary movement of 1848 in Frankfurt am Main provides one decisive encounter between political hope and lived reality. Elsewhere, study, teaching and work among poor families and labourers expose the distance between proclaimed ideals and the conditions governing ordinary lives. Education emerges as more than personal cultivation: it is presented as a foundation for freedom, particularly for women denied intellectual and economic independence. Yet the memoir also questions whether idealism alone can answer inequality, repression and the demands of effective action. Across reflections on religion, art, politics and social responsibility, the narrator connects her own development to the wider struggle for freedom of conscience. The autobiographical voice gives these arguments their distinctive force, showing how public commitments grow from experience and how independence must be made practical rather than merely declared. This is a political reform memoir concerned not only with what a person believes, but with the obligations those beliefs create. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: Finnish
• ISBN: 9377789109
• ISBN13: 9789377789107
• Release Date: January 2027
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"