"Tko nasljeđuje žensko pismo?" O domaćoj recepciji francuske feminističke teorije
Who Inherits Women’s Writing? On Croatian Reception of French Feminist Theory

Summary/Abstract: The paper considers a widespread use of the term “women’s writing” and the reception of French feminist theory in Croatian literary scholarship from the 1980s. Discussion focuses on the possibility as to whether the wide application of women’s writing is connected to its theoretical reception, and whether theoretical discussions about French feminist theory can function as a corrective of the current moment. The paper offers a survey of disagreements about the concept of women’s writing that arose already in the 1980s, and a theoretically and methodologically more conscious turn towards women’s literature in the post-Yugoslav context. The discussion, then, points to the one-sided reception of Irena Vrkljan and Dubravka Ugrešić as belonging primarily to women’s writing, which downplays important elements of their works – primarily the modernist and avant-garde influences. Special emphasis is placed on Brnjica za vještice (A Witch’s Bridle, 2021) by Dubravka Ugrešić, as a relevant diagnosis of the contemporary literary field. Finally, the paper argues that there are valuable claims for the ongoing theoretical discussion about the relevant feminist terminology in the regional reception of the French feminist theory.

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