Letter 44 - How Did Manya Become Marie?

Hello Bregdan Woman!

You have Ginny today…

This Bregdan Woman is probably one you learned about in school, but I’m positive you don’t know the real truth of her life. She was so much more than her accomplishments! She taught me a very powerful lesson.

Little Manya, born in Poland, was only 4 years old in 1871.

Her parents were teaching her to speak their native Polish, but she had to be certain to never speak it outside their home if she didn’t want her parents to land in prison. That’s a heavy load for a four-year-old!

Poland hadn’t been an independent country for almost a century. Warsaw was controlled by the Russian czar who tried to stamp out Polish nationalism by keeping the people ignorant of their language and culture.

Polish patriots (like Manya’s parents) were determined to not only retain both their culture and their language, but to ultimately regain control of their nation. You can imagine the danger they all lived with.

Manya’s parents, both highly educated, were educators themselves, but they were stripped of their ability to teach in certified schools under the repressive czarist regime. Manya and her sisters were tutored by her parents at home.

Two tragedies changed the course of her life. When she was seven, her older sister died from typhus.

In 1878, when Manya was ten, her mother died from tuberculosis.

Her father, reeling from the deaths, sent her to a boarding school, and then on to a secondary school that would prepare her for college.

Manya was the star pupil in her class and graduated at age 15.

Because women weren’t allowed at the University of Warsaw, Manya and her remaining sister, Bronya, attended an illegal night school dubbed the Flying University. It got its name because the location was changed frequently to help evade the watchful eyes of the authorities. These sisters understood the value of education!

But… what were they going to do to reach their dreams? They both wanted to go to medical school! They thought about it long and hard, and decided they would have to help each other.

The two sisters made a pact.

Manya would work to put her sister through medical school in Paris. And, as soon as she could, Bronya would reciprocate to help Manya go to school.

In between working hard to support her sister, Manya filled her hours with self-taught studies. She read countless books, exchanged letters with specialists in many fields, and learned from tutors as much as possible.

Not sure what she was really interested in; she studied sociology, literature, physics and chemistry.

She discovered that math and the physical sciences were her strength and passion.

When she was 24, Manya was finally able to leave for France to begin studies at the University of Paris – the famous Sorbonne.

What I have put in italics above is the powerful lesson I learned from Manya. She had a huge dream to go to college, but she had to wait until her mid-twenties to see it start to come to life. In the midst of earning money for her sister, she never stopped improving herself.

She never stopped working to make her dream come true.

She never stopped studying. When she finally got to college, she was determined to succeed.

She did everything in her power to prepare for her dream!

I can imagine her excitement when she FINALLY boarded the train to France to start college!

Manya became Marie when she enrolled at the University, while also working as a governess. She could finally start school, but she had to continue making money to survive. She was horribly lonely, but being alone meant she was able to concentrate on her studies.

Because of her lack of recognized academic preparation in Poland, she was far behind the other students, especially in the physical sciences which the Russians had outlawed in Polish schools.

Her proficiency in technical French was lacking. Her mathematical background was lacking.

What wasn’t lacking was her passion to learn.

The world of science was finally open to her!

Marie was like a sponge. It didn’t take her long to catch up, and then she flew past everyone else.

Marie’s ferocious studying paid off when she finished her master’s degree in physics just 2 years later – at the top of her class. Then she started her second master’s degree in math. But there was a problem.

The math degree required lab work and there was no lab available to her at the University. She did what any Bregdan Woman would do – she started looking for one.

Her search for lab space resulted in an introduction to another scientist who had done pioneering research on magnetism – his name was Pierre Curie. This introduction would change not only their individual lives, but also the course of science.

They were married a year later.

Little Manya was now Marie Curie.

Recognize her now??

Pierre, deeply intrigued and respectful of Marie’s brilliance, helped her every way he could. (Marie did the same for him.) Their lives were fraught with deprivation and difficulties due to lack of funding and adequate lab facilities.

Fortunately, both of them understood the importance of their research, so they ignored their personal discomfort and pain. Because they did, their impact on science and medicine is legendary.

Known best for her discovery of the radioactive elements of polonium and radium, Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She was a co-winner with Pierre.

Marie went on to become the first person to win two Nobel Prizes.

She is still the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two sciences!

Her radium was a key to the basic change in scientific understanding of energy and matter.

And her work not only influenced science, but also began an entirely new era in medical research and treatment – one you benefit from right now.

In the midst of all her successes, however, there was more tragedy – more loss.

She had been married to Pierre for only 11 years when he was tragically killed when crossing a street in Paris in 1906.

He slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn cart, dying instantly when one of the wheels ran over his head. He was only 47.

Marie was left alone to raise their children and continue her research.

This Bregdan Woman did just that!

But… she paid a heavy price for her work.

During her research she experienced radium burns, both accidentally and voluntarily (determined to learn how to control it). She was exposed to extensive doses of radiation – not understanding at the time how dangerous it was.

She discovered the cost when she died of aplastic anemia – caused by all the radiation – when she was 66.

We understand the dangers of radiation now. Even today, all their papers, even her cookbooks, are too dangerous to touch. Their laboratory books are kept in special lead boxes. People who want to see them have to wear protective clothing.

Marie Curie died from her research, but she has saved millions of lives. Marie dedicated most of her time during WWI to install X-ray machines in hospitals because it made it easier for doctors to locate shrapnel in injured soldiers and people. She managed the creation of battlefield units to treat those who couldn’t get to the hospital. Over 1 million soldiers were examined with these X-ray machines.

Think of the men, and their families, who were forever changed because her creation kept them alive.

You know, as a female child growing up in an occupied country, Manya could have come up with all kinds of excuses why she couldn’t finish school, go to college, or persevere in her career choice.

But she didn’t. Marie Curie took the steps necessary to move from one level of life to the next. She faced each obstacle, found a solution, performed it with excellence, and moved forward.

That is my definition of a Bregdan Woman!

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What will you do to be a Bregdan Woman?

What will you do today to impact history??

We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE Gifts for you below…)

Ginny & Suess

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