Two Polish Girls in Paris

To overcome the obstacles they faced, Marie agreed to work as a tutor and childrens governess to support Bronya financially. This allowed Bronya to go to France to study medicine in Paris.And so, for the next few years of her life, Marie worked to earn money for herself and Bronya. In the evenings, if she had time, she read chemistry, physics and math textbooks. She also attended lectures and laboratory practicals at an illegal free university where Poles learned about Polish culture and practical science, both of which had been suppressed by the Russian Tsarist authorities.In November 1891, aged 24, Marie followed Bronya to Paris. There she studied chemistry, mathematics and physics at the Sorbonne, Pariss most prestigious university. The course was, of course, taught in French, which Marie had to reach top speed with quickly.At first she shared an apartment with Bronya and Bronyas husband, but the apartment lay an hour away from the university. Marie decided to rent a room in the Latin Quarter, closer to the Sorbonne.This was a time of some hardship for the young scientist, winters in her unheated apartment chilled her to the bone.