Karriercélok és házasság. Női sikernarratívák az 1931 és 1944 között készült magyar vígjátékokban
Career and Marriage: Women’s Success Narratives in Hungarian Comedies between 1931 and 1944

Summary/Abstract: The study examines the narratives of financial success and upward social mobility of female leads in comedies produced between 1931 and 1944, more specifically, the narratives of success through marriage. In these films, marriage is the typical way for women to rise in the financial and social hierarchy while individual competence (hard work, perseverance, diligence, skill) is rarely shown to lead to success. However, the study underpins that these films did not fully subscribe to the conservative attitudes of the Horthy Era promoting traditional female roles and family values. This is argued through the fact that the female protagonists in these films are often working women, striving for intellectual or financial independence. The study, thus, focuses on those hybrid examples in which the emancipated woman appears in the context of marriage or plays the role of a married woman, which then result in conflict. The study presents a brief overview of the situation of women in Horthy Era Hungary, followed by a study of the cinematic representation of women either working or attending university, or women whose ambition is financial and intellectual independence. Finally, examples are presented where the focal conflict of the narrative is caused by the tension between the image of emancipated woman and conservative behavior patterns.

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