Irma von Troll-Borostyání

Irma Troll-Borostyáni (31 March 1847 – 10 February 1912) was an Austrian writer, journalist and campaigner for women's rights.

Biography

Troll-Borostyáni was born in Salzburg as Maria von Troll to Josephine von Appeltauer and Otto Ritter von Troll on 31 March 1847. She loved music which her mother taught her, and wanted to be a pianist. From 1862 to 1864 Troll-Borostyáni attended the Benedictine Abbey at Nonnberg. However she became ill after two years and returned home where she cut off her hair and later changed her name from Maria to Irma. Mostly she taught herself and her notebooks detail what she learned. In 1864 her sister Wilhelmine became a teacher in Hungary and in 1866 their father died leaving the family with limited funds. This reduced her career path options, typically to being a governess or getting married.

In 1870 Troll-Borostyáni moved to Vienna with the intention of becoming a concert pianist. While there she came in contact with the literary circles and took acting classes. She was unable to make her career in Vienna and followed her sister to Hungary where she became a music teacher. There, in 1874 she married Hungarian journalist and writer Ferdinand von Borostyáni. However, though the marriage produced a daughter, they did not continue to live together. Her husband moved to Paris, and later still Budapest, but Troll-Borostyáni did not go with him. Her health was poor especially after the birth of her daughter. She and her husband maintained a long distance friendship. She increasingly wrote, her focus almost entirely on the campaign for gender equality and women's rights. When her daughter and mother both died, Troll-Borostyáni moved back to Salzburg. There she lived in a house with her sister Wilhelmine and Helene, Maria, and Johanna Baumgartner.