The article presents the Slovenian writer and traveler, Alma M. Karlin, from two perspectives—the public and the private. The author begins with a summary of the most well-known facts of Alma Karlin's life: She describes her journey around the world, her motivation for writing literary works and travel logs, she places herself into the linguistic and political milieu and uncovers her contribution to the deconstruction of the role a woman was expected to perform in the early 20th century. In this text, the author exposes the previously secret or intentionally hidden elements of Karlin's privacy, for example her relationships with love and the physical. She also brings to light Karlin's relationships with men. However, the author focuses especially on the relationship between Alma Karlin and Thea Gamelin and the related speculations about Karlin's lesbianism, offering a new insight through the concept of the romantic friendship. The article raises the question whether the researching that ignores all the possible interpretations of Karlin’s life and identity has also become an act of heteronormativity.
