Zemaite Monument, Vilnius

The Zemaite Monument in Vilnius is a tribute to one of Lithuania's most celebrated writers and public figures, Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė, better known as Žemaitė. Born in 1845, Žemaitė was a pioneer in Lithuanian literature, especially in writing about the lives of women. She was the first Lithuanian writer who conveyed the worldview of women, which was previously unexplored by male writers.

The sculpture portrays Žemaitė in her signature leaning pose, with a tied headscarf. The monument has a blue table attached to its pedestal, inviting visitors to listen to the sculpture. By scanning the QR code or typing in the specified URL, visitors can hear Jolanta Dapkūnaitė's voice, who serves as the voice of the sculpture.

Žemaitė's popularity as a writer soared during her lifetime, and she wrote about 354 short stories, novellas, narratives, pictures, a dozen plays, a story about her childhood, publicity articles, and correspondences. Her most famous works include Marti, Topylis, Petras Kurmelis, Sučiuptas velnias, and Sutkai. Her works are known for their epic, ironic, and objectivised narratives, which depict negative phenomena of life. She paid particular attention to detailed descriptions of nature, customs, everyday life, and external characters. Moreover, she highlighted the lives of women in her work, which made her a role model for women writers of the time.

In 1971, to commemorate Žemaitė's contributions to Lithuanian literature, the Zemaite Monument was erected in Vilnius. The monument stands as a reminder of Žemaitė's pioneering role in promoting the Lithuanian language and its literature, especially in writing about the lives of women.