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This article analyses correspondence sent and received by Karel Havlíček, reflecting mid-19th century gender stereotypes. The text is based on published editions, as well as archive material housed primarily at the Museum of Czech Literature, Literary Archive. Attention is mainly focused on a unique set of letters which the novice journalist exchanged with his one-time fiancée Fany Weidenhoffrová. The letters are compared with prescriptive literature of the period; this comparison indicates that Havlíček's attitude towards women was in line with the standards of the time and did not differ in any substantial way. Even in the early correspondence the view is held that only the private sphere should be given over to women, who are sensitive and passive creatures, while men are supposed to have the opposite characteristics required for them to be family breadwinners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]