Mina Krüseman

Wilhelmina Jacoba Pauline Rudolphine "Mina" Kruseman (25 September 1839 – 1922) was a 19th-century Dutch feminist, actrice and author who used to call herself Oristorio di Frama.

Youth

Mina Kruseman was born in Velp, Gelderland as the oldest of 4 daughters of Hendrik Georg Kruseman (1802-1880) en Jennij Dorotheé Hermine Cornelie Cantzlaar (1810–1859).

H. G. Kruseman, who went on to serve in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) in the Dutch East Indies, took the family with him. Her growing up with three sisters in Samarang Dutch East Indies had some influence in her later writings. Mina appears to have experienced these years with a sense of freedom; in her autobiography Mijn leven ("My Life") published in 1877, there are several indications of her having had a happy life there. In 1854, the family returned to the Netherlands, where Mina developed a deep aversion against the cold, small-city narrow-minded homeland and the restrictions that were imposed by decency, convention and religion. In her view, women were by far the group most negatively affected by these social norms.

Other than her home country, she also spent a considerable part of her life in Belgium, France and United States.

Early career

Mina Kruseman wanted to do something special with her life, but initially struggled to find a purpose. In Brussels, where she lived, she was accepted at the Conservatory for voice and piano, but she quit after one year. After the death of two of her sisters, and a discontinued engagement, she decided to be an artist, globe-trotting along stages. She continued her education as a singer in Paris. As she achieved little success in Europe, she decided to go to America in 1871. The start was difficult, but under the alias of Stella Oristorio di Frama, she achieved critical acclaim with several performances in the south of the United States. Karcilla Réna was another pseudonym used by Kruseman. Because of uncertain prospects, she returned to Brussels in the summer of 1872.