Ivande Kaija

Thinking about strong women in the Baltic region, I realised – somewhat to my own surprise – that although our recent history has produced many powerful female figures, almost every one of them had to sacrifice something to maintain that strength.
Ivande Kaija (1878–1942) was a Latvian writer who unapologetically addressed women’s sexuality at the beginning of the twentieth century. With herHer novel Inherited Sin, she marked one of the first moments in Latvian literature when female sexuality was not wrapped in allegory, moral instruction, or romantic idealisation, but examined as an inner, psychological and existential reality.
Throughout her life, Kaija sought self-realisation, much like the heroines of her literary works. Yet her everyday life was occupied by service to the nation and to her family. Perhaps it was precisely this inability to devote herself entirely to literature that gave rise to the boldness of her writing.