Žemaitė was the pen name of Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė (4 June 1845 – 7 December 1921). She was a Lithuanian/Samogitian writer, democrat and educator. Born to impoverished gentry, she became one of the major participants in the Lithuanian National Revival. She wrote about peasant life in the style best described as realism. In her lifetime Žemaitė wrote about 354 tales, novelettes, essays, over a dozen of plays, stories about her childhood as well as a number of articles, correspondences. Her works have been published in Ūkininkas, Varpas, Vienybė lietuvninkų, Naujienos, Darbininkų balsas, Vilniaus žinios, Lietuvos ūkininkas. Žemaitė wrote about peasants in a vernacular that closely resembled the language spoken by them – lively and rich in vocabulary. Her works are usually dark as she depicts poverty, materialism, and arguments within a family. The author paints natural images of everyday life with petty conflicts, lively conversations, impoverished surroundings, and beautiful nature.