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204
SÖNYA KOVALÉVSKY
native town, and who also took a warm interest in the
woman question, was eager to secure for his university
the glory of attracting to it the first great
woman-mathematician.
As early as 1881 Sönya wrote to Mittag Leffler, then
at Helsingfors, the following letter:
Bellevuestrasse, Berlin, July 8, 1881.
I thank you none the less for the interest you take in my
possible appointment to Stockholm, and for all the trouble
you are giving yourself for this purpose. I can assure you that
if it were offered to me, I should gratefully accept. I have
never looked for any other appointment than this, and I will
even admit that I should feel less bashful and shy if I were
only allowed the possibility of applying my knowledge in the
higher branches of education. I may in this way open the
universities to women, which has hitherto only been possible by
special favor—a favor which can be denied at any moment,
as has recently happened in the German universities. Without
being rich, I have still the means of living independently. The
question of salary is, therefore, of no importance to me in
coming to a decision. What I wish, above all, is to serve the cause
in which I take so great an interest; and, at the same time, to
be able to live for my work, surrounded by those who are
occupied with the same questions — a piece of good fortune I have
never enjoyed in Russia, but only in Berlin. These, dear
professor, are my personal feelings on the subject, but I think I
ought to tell you even more. Professor W-believes that,
as far as he can judge of Swedish matters, it is not possible for
the Stockholm University to accept a woman even as a teacher.
What is of still greater importance, he is afraid that if you
insist on introducing such novelties, it may injure your own
position. It would be selfish on my part if I did not let you know the
opinion of our beloved teacher. And you can easily understand
how unhappy I should be if, after all, I injured you, who have
always shown so much interest in me, and helped me so greatly;
you for whom I feel such sincere friendship. I believe it would
be wiser, therefore, not to do anything at present, but to wait
till I have finished the papers on which I am now engaged. If
I succeed in completing them as well as I intend and hope, it
would in every way help toward the aim I have in view.
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