Women in the Bulgarian Family – Key Characteristics, Roles and Social Stereotypes (Based on Materials from Bulgarian Paremiology) Cover Image

Жената в българското семейство – основни качества, роли и социални стереотипи (върху материал от българската паремиология
Women in the Bulgarian Family – Key Characteristics, Roles and Social Stereotypes (Based on Materials from Bulgarian Paremiology)

Author(s): Krasimira Vasileva
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Gender Studies, General Reference Works, Sociology, Gender history, Family and social welfare
Published by: Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий”
Keywords: Woman; paremias; proverbs; sayings; stereotypes.

Summary/Abstract: The object of the study is the proverbs and sayings that present the concept of women in the Bulgarian language. The aim of the analysis is to identify the most characteristic qualities and behavioral features that form the stereotypical images of women in Bulgarian linguistic culture in their various roles in the family—the roles of a wife, a mother and a member of the extended family (daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, widow). A number of stereotypical attitudes related to the family roles of women in traditional Bulgarian society are established: ambivalence, the need for respect for men, hard work, the mother’s boundless love for her children, the value and idealization of the maternal figure, the mother’s educational function, the conflict between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law in the patriarchal home.

  • Issue Year: 1/2026
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 81-88
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: English, Bulgarian
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